


The Answer Is You

by hunters_retreat



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Criminals Made Them Do It, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Kidnapping, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-22
Updated: 2010-07-22
Packaged: 2018-01-08 02:35:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie Eppes is the best selling author of The Attraction Equation, a book that makes finding the perfect partner a science. Of course, his own love life hasn’t been that eventful. What happens when someone obsessed with Charlie does the math and comes up with his own idea of who Charlie’s soul mate is? Can the team get to them in time before Don and Charlie’s relationship is altered beyond repair? And once they escape, can they ever be free of their captor's voice, telling them to take what they want and never let go?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Answer Is You

 

 

_“… if there is anything stronger than the bond between brothers, it is the bond of brothers who have become friends.”_  
  
Don smiled slightly as he shook his head, looking down at his feet as the woman quoted him from the Vanity Fair article. When he looked up, Charlie’s face was lightly flushed but he was smiling across the sound stage at him, eyes holding the shy delight that he loved to see so much. Charlie’s world was numbers and equations, fractions and theorems that he could never understand, would never attempt to.  
Sometimes though, Charlie looked up at him, and he knew his brother saw him. It was like the world stood on edge in those moments. Like it was as the anchorwoman waited for Charlie’s response.  
  
“Yeah,” Charlie said, looking away from Don and back to the interview he was doing. “Well that quote is another example of how the math works. You take an equation and throw in the variables and you get the answer. However, sometimes people forget that the variables change. We grow older, we find other interests, things in our lives change and we forget that while the equation is always the same, the variables aren’t. When you look at a relationship in the beginning, it all works. As people get to know one another, as they grow into one another or away from each other, things change. Sometimes, it just doesn’t equate. The book isn’t about telling you how to find your soul mate per say, but more about finding someone you care about and remembering to factor in who they are, and how they have and can grown with you.”  
  
The interviewer smiled and Charlie snuck a look back at Don before he turned his attention to her words. “Thank you so much Dr. Eppes for taking the time to join us today. For our studio audience, we’re lucky that Dr. Eppes has agreed to stay and autograph your copies of his book “The Attraction Equation”. “  
  
The cameras finally stopped rolling and Charlie shook the lady’s hand before he made his way back over to Don.  
“How did it sound?”  
  
Don smiled, because no matter how confident Charlie was in his math, there were still moments when he was the nervous little brother who just wanted his approval. “Charlie, you were great,” he said as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He could feel the tension in his brother’s body and knew it wouldn’t be gone until they were done with the signing and back at home, but some of his uneasy fell away with Don’s proximity.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Yeah. You know, they keep using that quote.”  
  
Charlie looked away and Don knew it was to hide his embarrassment. As rocky as their childhood relationship had been, Charlie sometimes still had trouble remembering they were past all that. Sometimes he needed to be reminded that Don saw him as the capable adult that he was and not the extraordinary, yet problematic child who turned his life up side down.  
  
“I think they just like it because you’re in the FBI.”  
  
Don laughed. “Come on Charlie. Let’s get you through this book signing.”  
  
It didn’t take long. The tables had already been set up and the books were piled on Charlie’s left for easy access. Don sat on Charlie’s right side, just behind him, his eyes taking in the crowd, trying not to look like an FBI agent waiting for someone to attack. He figured he was batting about 50/50 on that one. Whenever someone said something to Charlie that had his brother straightening up, or ducking his head, or any of the myriad of things Don knew were signs of being uncomfortable, he leaned in and placed his hand on Charlie’s shoulder or thigh or back and reinforced his presence. Charlie always relaxed into his touch and their obvious closeness got Don pulled into more than one conversation about what it was like to grow up with a genius brother. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a bitter realization but rather an interesting revelation to find that he no longer viewed his relationship with Charlie in terms of sacrifice and shadows, but of give and take, care and concern. He’d always loved his little brother, but it struck him sometimes when he remembered just how much he liked the man his brother had become.  
  
When the signing was over and the most fervent of the audience members were gone, Don shuffled Charlie out of the studio and back home, stopping to pick up pizza and beer on the way so they could settle in and watch the night’s baseball game together.

 

 

 

  
Don hung the phone up, his head falling to his hands as he took the information in. They didn’t want him there, they’d made that perfectly clear, but it didn’t change the fact that he wanted to go.  
  
The rest of the team seemed to sense his unease and there was quiet in the bullpen until he felt Megan slide across his desk, sitting on the edge with her hands in her lap. “Don?”  
  
He looked up at Megan and didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t known the victim, and damn how it hurt to think of her as a victim. He closed his eyes and shook his head for a second. Megan just sat there, giving him the space he needed.  
  
“Terry.” He said softly when he felt his voice would give more than a weak wobble. He cleared his throat. “Terry Lake.”  
  
“The forensic psychologist you worked with?”  
  
He nodded but looked up, feeling the other’s eyes on him. It was David that he looked to when he started again though, David who was the only other person in the bullpen that had worked with her. “She was found murdered in her home.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“They found her in her bed, one shot to the head. They uh …” he paused, needing to take a deep breath to go on. Granger had moved closer, his right shoulder pressing against the back of David’s left and Don could see the way his partner took comfort in the small touch, in knowing that Colby was at his back. “There were words written over the bed. _‘It just doesn’t equate’_. “  
  
Granger was the first to voice the question. “What doesn’t equate?”  
  
“I have no idea.” He looked at David, who’d worked with her for almost a year, knowing the man wouldn’t take it well. “They don’t want us to look into it.”  
  
“They expect us to stay out of it?”  
  
“Yeah they do. We’ve been ordered to do just that. DC is handling it, but if we know anyone that might hold a grudge against her, they’ll be sending someone out to take our statements.” He said with a roll of his eyes.  
  
“That’s bullshit.”  
  
“I know but … she’s been there longer than she was here. They want to handle it.”  
  
“Then why did they call you Don?” David held his temper well but anger still flavored his voice.  
  
Don shrugged. “I know a guy in the office. He knew Terry and I were close.”  
  
“You still talk to her?”  
  
“Yeah, from time to time.”  
  
“When was the last time you saw her?”  
  
“Three nights ago. She saw Charlie on TV and called to congratulate him. She came into town and we had dinner. She was thinking of moving back to the area.”  
  
He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He had a hard time when she left to try to patch things up with her ex. He could understand wanting to try to make things work, but he’d always felt like they’d been heading back down that path together. He didn’t see her move coming and it blindsided him. When they were at dinner, she blindsided him again with talk of moving back to L.A., including a barely there hint that maybe they might rekindle what had been between them.  
  
Don might not be the man that ran every time something got too serious anymore, but he wasn’t that guy either, the one you could walk away from and try to come back to again and again.  
  
“She didn’t seem upset or worried. Nothing indicated that she knew someone was coming for her.” He finished off.  
  
“We gotta do something Don.” David said, his whole body radiating a growing aggression he’d rarely seen from the other man.  
  
“I’ll see what I can do man. I should at least be able to get a copy of the report so we can see if they missed anything.”  
  
“Yeah, thanks Don.”  
  
Colby pulled David aside and Megan went to her ringing phone, leaving Don staring down at his hands. There was nothing else he could do, so there was nothing to stop the thought that he should have done something to stop it.

 

 

 

  
“Agent Eppes?”  
  
Don looked up from his desk, wishing he could drown himself in the small cup of coffee sitting there. He was exhausted. He could tell from the slump of David’s shoulders that he hadn’t been able to sleep last night either. The news of Terry’s death was just too much, especially when they weren’t able to work on the case themselves. Megan and Colby were circling the wagons though, like they thought Don and David might need protecting.  
  
He could see it in the way Megan tensed as the field agent from DC came into the bullpen and how Colby caught his partner’s eye and held it for a minute.  
  
“Yeah, I’m Don Eppes.”  
  
“Agent Branson from DC.”  
  
“Have you got any leads on who killed Terry?”  
  
He shook his head. “Not yet. We got a call this morning on another murder, this one in your backyard. Same M.O. so they shot the call to us. From what I understand, you’ve worked with her before.”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Robin Brooks.”  
  
“Oh my god.”  
  
He heard the small exhale from Megan and he was glad he hadn’t stood up yet because he wasn’t sure he could have stayed upright at the news.  
  
It couldn’t be a coincidence, two women that he’d dated, two women that he’d been serious about, both turning up dead in a matter of two days, could it? He closed his eyes and clenched his fist to keep from grabbing his cell and calling his brother to ask what the probability was. He didn’t want to know the answer.  
  
“Don?”  
  
He looked up and realized they’d been talking to him. He missed it all. “I’m sorry. What?”  
  
“I asked if you knew of anyone that would target people that you knew?”  
  
Don scoffed as he looked around the room. “Gee I don’t know. I might have made an enemy or two when I was putting people behind bars.”  
The agent took his anger as well as could be expected. “Is there anyone else we should worry about?”  
  
Don thought about the two dead women, thought about what it was about those two that might have caused someone to go after them and not anyone else and he realized only one thing made them any different than any other; he’d been really serious about them at one point, ready to take the plunge and they’d called it off. He felt sick to his stomach. “Kim Hall. In the New Mexico field office. You should check on her.”  
  
“Don,” David’s quiet voice got his attention far better than anything else could have. “The wording on the walls. You know whose been using that phrase a lot in public, right?”  
  
“What?” Colby asked.  
  
He grabbed his jacket and didn’t look back until he heard the DC agent calling his name. Colby’s words got through to him and it was only then that Don realized what he was doing.  
  
“What’s going on David? Where’s he going?”  
  
David’s answer was clear and concise and no one else asked for an explanation. “Charlie.”

 

 

 

  
There was no reason to think anyone would want to hurt his brother, but ever since Charlie had helped the FBI with the sniper case Don had been protective when they were working together. Ever since someone had tried to run him off a road and shot at him, Don knew that protective had turned into downright territorial, hostile to even the slightest hint of a threat in his brother’s direction. Megan shot him odd glances over it, but he couldn’t get past the idea that Charlie should never be in danger. Charlie was one of those utterly unique people that the world couldn’t risk losing. He was like the pyramids with their majestic standing and mythical proportions. Charlie’s mind was like that; his ideas were far too great to be contained in something as fragile as human flesh. He could see it when Charlie tried to talk about something and got tongue tied, when he used his hands to put the emphasis where words would not. It intrigued Don because he’d never met anyone else like Charlie, and he knew he never would.  
  
He picked up his cell phone and dialed as he sped down to the garage. It picked up quickly and Don let out a sigh of relief.  
  
“Charlie Eppes,”  
  
“Hey Charlie.”  
  
“Don? Is everything alright?”  
  
“Sure. Yeah. What, a guy can’t call his brother to check in?”  
  
“Sure, sure, normally when one brother is an FBI agent though it looks suspicious.”  
  
Don grinned because he could hear the smile in Charlie’s voice. The humor was always so evident in his brother, no matter how hard it must have been for him to grow up the way he had, a slave to the numbers in his head and the inspiration that sometimes took days to work out of his system.  
  
Don opened the car door and jammed the keys in, starting it up. “You’re still in Arizona, right?”  
  
“Yeah, I have a signing tonight and then a flight home tomorrow. Why?”  
  
“Just … you haven’t noticed anything weird have you? You know, anything unusual? Anyone that paid you too much attention?”  
  
“No. Don, what’s happening?”  
  
“It’s nothing Charlie. Really, just a case that’s a little too close to home.”  
  
“Don, do you need me to come back?”  
  
“No, Charlie, no. Do your book signing. The world deserves to see a little Eppes brilliance in action every once in a while and since I’m working, you’ll have to handle it.”  
  
Charlie chuckled on the other end of the line. “Okay. Just let me know if you need anything.”  
  
“Of course I will Charlie.”  
  
“Ah Don, I’ve got to go. They’ve got me doing a reading before hand and then there’s a demonstration of the theory that I have to get ready for.”  
  
“Yeah, just call me if you need anything Charlie.”  
  
“I will Don.”  
  
  
Three hours later Don found himself walking into the auditorium. He sat at the back of the room, watching as Charlie worked his way through the math, the University students eating it up, some scribbled in their notebooks at break neck speed and others simply watching.  
He felt better being there, felt more able to breath. He couldn’t explain it but he was sure his team understood. They knew Charlie and they knew how protective of him Don had become. He knew he shouldn’t have left LA. It was impulsive and probably stupid but he couldn’t let it go. He had to get to Charlie. It was just eating at his gut, the possibility that someone could go from killing the people he’d cared about, to killing the person that meant the world to him. He’d take whatever heat he needed to once this thing blew over.  
  
The lights came up and there was a round of applause. He watched Charlie, then stood up and made his way to the stage where tables were being brought out and the students were lining up to get their books signed.  
  
He pushed his way through the masses, forgoing the line as he made his way to the front of the table. “I’m sorry sir, but you need to wait your turn.”  
  
Don looked at the nicely dressed security officer that stood in his path. He smiled as he looked over the man’s shoulder. “You hear that Charlie? They’re going to make me wait in line.”  
  
Charlie looked up from the corner where he’d been half huddled, post-speaker nerves taking their usual toll. “Don?”  
  
His smile made Don breathe deeper and the guy that had been trying to block his path wasn’t trying to be a barrier anymore. Charlie grabbed him and pulled him back to the other side of the tables. “Don, what are you doing here?”  
  
“Just … checking up on you Chuck.” Charlie’s eyes tightened and he knew he’d have to tell him everything, just not yet. “We’ll talk, alright Charlie? After you’re done I’ll explain it, but not here, yeah?”  
  
“Yeah, okay Don.” There was still concern in his eyes, but Charlie smiled, obviously glad to have Don’s company. “So, you wanna sit with me?”  
  
“And meet your adoring fans? Absolutely.”  
  
  
Don sat at his brother’s side as he signed books, regretting for the millionth time that he’d let Vanity Fair quote him. Every time someone mentioned what it must be like to have such a close relationship with his brother though, Charlie would give him that shy smile and it was worth whatever embarrassment he got from the over-used quote.  
  
Don could tell as they walked out to the car that Charlie was tired but still wired on the enthusiasm of the people in the auditorium. There were real mathematicians in the audience today and Charlie had been overwhelmed by their support of his work making math more mainstream.  
  
He needed to get his brother to relax a little so they stopped and had dinner before heading back to Charlie’s hotel. Charlie was still wrapping his head around the book and its reception, but once they started back to the hotel the conversation became much more sober.  
When they got back Charlie dropped his jacket onto the bed and watched as Don sat at the table.  
  
“Don?”  
  
Don got up quickly, grabbing two beers from the room refrigerator. He handed one to Charlie before he took his seat again at the table. He took a long pull from his and watched as Charlie did the same, obviously bracing himself for whatever Don was about to throw at him.  
  
“I got word yesterday of a murder. It’s not our case, but I knew the woman. Today, right before I called you, we found out there was a second victim. Same M.O. and one really obvious link. Me.”  
  
“Don?”  
  
“Terry Lake and Robin Brooks. They’re both dead.”  
  
Charlie’s eyes widened and he sat heavily on the bed. “Don,”  
  
“We don’t know anything, but since I worked with both of them, dated them both, it stands to reason that someone is targeting people I care about.”  
  
“Dad?”  
  
“I got him taken care of as soon as I got off the phone with you.”  
  
“Tell me more about the case. Maybe I can … I don’t know. I need more data.”  
_  
“It just doesn’t equate.”_  
  
“What doesn’t?”  
  
“Those are the words that were written on the wall over both women.”  
  
Charlie just stared at him as he tried to work around the words and their connection to him. “Don, I …”  
  
“Charlie, I just had to make sure you were okay. So no sweat, alright? We’ll fly back tomorrow and hopefully they’ll have this all squared away before we get there.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Don took a long pull of his beer and watched his brother. Charlie seemed in shock, his eyes wide, his breathing shallow as he looked around the room with a dazed expression.  
  
Don thought about getting up and sitting beside him, giving him a little comfort, but he couldn’t quite muster the energy. He caught his breath, moving his head to the side slightly to feel the slow pull of muscles as he realized what was happening. He staggered to his feet and tried to walk to his brother but his movements were sloppy and sluggish. He watched as Charlie fell onto his back across the bed, unconscious, beer bottle spilling from his fingers as he did so.  
  
Don cursed as he felt himself stumble to his knees, trying to keep moving to his brother. His fear for his brother clouding his judgment as surely as the drugs, making him try to charge to Charlie’s side instead of call someone. When he finally succumbed to the drug he’d been given, his only consolation was that he’d managed to reach Charlie before falling into blackness.

 

 

 

 

  
  
  
He came to, slowly, with a pounding head and the sharp stab of light in his eyes.  He blinked, trying to remember where he was, and then closed them deliberately as he remembered what had happened.  When he opened his eyes again he knew that there was no one else in the room, hovering over him.  He sat up, letting the pain take him for a moment before he pushed it aside to assess his new environment.  
He felt a rush of relief as he found Charlie lying across the bed beside him.  His brother was still unconscious, but there was no sign of injury beyond the drugs.  He wouldn’t know for sure until he woke, but considering the headache Don was sporting, he wasn’t about to try to rouse Charlie.  It was enough to see his chest rise with his breath and to know that his brother was alive.  
  
He looked past his brother then, burying the relief of his proximity to study their current location.  The room they were in had a high ceiling with no door or windows.  A lamp hung from the corner of the room giving off enough light to see.  Other than the full sized bed he sat on, there was a table and one chair set up underneath the lamp and a cabinet on the other wall.  The table and chair were bolted to the floor.  When Don looked to the right a curtain hung, blocking his view.   He stood slowly, giving his body a moment to adjust to the feeling, and then moved to push the curtain aside.  On the floor, there was a raised edge that sectioned off a 5X5 foot area with a drain in the center.  A small shower head poked out from above the curtain level in the rear.  In the corner was a toilet and to its side a small hand sink.   
  
He let the curtain drop, not liking the feel of it, at all.  This wasn’t meant for a simple abduction, it was for long term placement.  It took far more care and precision than he liked to think.  It meant they probably weren’t in danger of dying soon, but their abductor was thorough and he had a well thought out plan.  They weren’t likely to get free because of a stupid mistake.  
  
He was unbelievably grateful that his team knew Charlie and understood their relationship because they would already be on the case, trying to find them.  The team would have known something was wrong when he didn’t check in that morning, especially David who had known Terry and known how close they were.  He just needed to get them through this thing, whatever it was.  He had to keep them both whole and steady until his people could get to them.   
  
He heard the soft rustle of fabric and turned away from the illusion of privacy their captor had arranged for them.  Charlie moaned and struggled to sit up in bed.  Don was at his side before he realized he was going to move.  Years of taking care of his brother, whether he’d wanted to or not, seemed to move his feet when fear or concern threatened to overwhelm him.   
  
“Charlie?  How’s your head?”  
  
Charlie blinked at him a few times.  “Don?”  He could see the confusion in his brother’s eyes as he focused and realized they weren’t in the hotel anymore.  “What happened?”  He asked, clutching his head.  
  
“I’m not sure, but it’s a pretty safe bet the food and drinks in your fridge were drugged.”  He could see Charlie’s eyes widen and the fear creep in, overpowering the confusion.  “Whoever it was, whatever they want, we’ll get through it Charlie.”  He assured him.  “What I know is that whatever is happening, David, Megan, and Colby are already looking for us.  You know how good they are Charlie.  They aren’t going to rest until they find us.”  
  
Charlie nodded.  “Yeah.  Of course, they’re …” Charlie took a deep breath and Don waited to see what his next reaction would be.    “Do you think this is related to the murders?”  
  
Don closed his eyes slightly, letting relief flood him as Charlie’s mind went to the problem at hand rather than burrow back into the math in head that still crept up from time to time when Charlie was too overwhelmed.  “Maybe.”  
  
“It’s why you came to get me in Pheonix, isn’t it?”  
  
“No.  Yes.  I don’t know.  Look, with Terry and Robin dead,” god it hurt to think so coldly about it but he didn’t have time to deal with that just yet.  “There could have been other links, but nothing as obvious as their link to me.  Who knows?  Maybe Terry worked a case with Kim and someone was going after them…”  
  
“But?”  
  
“But the quote made it feel like you were part of it somehow.”  
  
“That’s why you came.”  
  
“Yeah.  I mean, I didn’t make the connection at first.  I grew up with that sort of language so it didn’t hit me that someone else wouldn’t use it so readily.  But then David reminded me that you’ve been saying it a lot in your interviews.  Considering they got us both, I think it’s a pretty good indication that whatever happens next, they want both of us here for it.”  
  
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”  
  
“They don’t want either of us dead Charlie.  If they did, they could have done it while we were unconscious.  Whatever we’re here for, they’re planning on keeping us a while.”

 

 

 

  
“No word?”  
  
“Still nothing.”  David said, hanging up the phone.  “I’m going to Phoenix.”  He said with quiet surety.  
  
“What’s in Phoenix?”  
  
“We all know Don was going to check on Charlie.”  
  
“You think he actually flew to Phoenix?”  
  
“It’s Charlie.”  No one had anything to say as David picked up the phone and made the arrangements to get the next flight out.   
  
In the background, he heard Colby talking to the hotel, making sure the room was secure and that no one would enter it before they got there.  
  
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he thought about Don and Charlie, knowing that wherever they were, they were counting on their team to get them out.  As he looked at Megan, watched her going through the files on both Terry and Kim while she was on hold with the DC office, he nodded slightly.  His team had his back and they were going to see this hunch through.  When they got Don and Charlie back, he needed to remember to take them all out for a beer.  They’d already earned it.

 

 

 

  
Charlie sat in front of the cabinet and stared at the contents while Don tried to wrap his head around it.  Canned food.  Bottled water.  Chocolate chip cookies. Peanut Butter and bread.  There was a small fridge hidden inside the cabinet and it held butter and jam, fresh fruit and even a few beers.  
  
“I … I mentioned in one of the interviews.”  Charlie was speaking so softly Don would have missed it all together if he hadn’t been listening so intently to his brother’s reactions.  “how I used to live on peanut butter and jelly.”  
  
Don nodded, understanding a little better what they had without understanding why their captor was paying such close attention to their likes and dislikes.  
  
“You talked about that time I made you chocolate chip cookies.”  He added, walking up behind his brother.  He pulled out a bottle of water and looked at it, not finding any sign of tampering.  He cracked the seal and opened it.  
  
“Don, you can’t drink that.”  
  
“We have to drink something and it’s better if we know it’s drugged now.”  He took a long drink from it and couldn’t help but notice the way Charlie’s eyes watched him swallow it down.  “Give it an hour Charlie.  If it doesn’t seem to be drugged you can have some.”  
  
Charlie nodded, then turned his attention back to the cabinet.  “Why do you think someone would do this?”  
  
Don took a seat on the bed and sighed.  “I don’t know Charlie.  None of this is making any sense to me.  The murders, the message, any of this.  This place is well thought out, designed to give us what comforts it could, but there’s got to be a purpose to it all.”  
  
Charlie nodded.  “You’re right.  He said it just doesn’t equate, and he’s right.  We don’t have enough variables to understand what we’re dealing with.  I need more data.  I need … damn it I need something to write with.”  
  
It was then that Don realized that bit of truth.  Their captor was giving them comforts, things to help them settle in without constant fear for their safety, but he’d gone out of his way to make sure they couldn’t possibly escape.  No doors, nothing with a point or edge that could be fashioned into a weapon, and nothing for Charlie to write with.   
  
“Charlie, I don’t think your math is going to get us out of here.”  
  
“After everything we’ve done together Don, how can you doubt that it works?”  
  
“Because I think that’s why we’re here.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“It’s a hunch Charlie, but whoever this is, they don’t like anyone close to me.  They started killing off the women I’ve been closest with but they still brought you with me.  Why would they do that, if they had a vendetta against me?  Why would they let you live?  Unless it’s not about that.  I think this is about me getting too close to people.  It’s … “  
  
“It’s about someone else getting between us.”  
  
He’d never been so grateful for Charlie’s genius than he was at that moment.  He wasn’t sure he’d have been able to say it out loud if Charlie hadn’t figured it out.  He didn’t think he could put words to the fear that the people he’d cared about were being killed because some sick-o wanted to make sure that no one took Charlie’s place in his life.  “Yeah.”  Don said softly.  “I’m afraid that’s it.”  
  
Charlie didn’t confirm or deny anything.  He just sat staring at the cookies in his hand until the light above them went out.  
  
“Don?”  
  
Don was standing as soon as the light went out.  “Right here Charlie.”  He heard Charlie stand and knew that his brother was shuffling around the room towards him.  “Right here buddy.”  He didn’t step away from the bed, knowing that if he moved he wouldn’t be able to see if he was about to knock into his brother or not.  He felt the brush of fingertips on his arms and smiled to himself as he wrapped his fingers around Charlie’s hand.  “There you go.  Let’s just have a seat.”  
  
“You think the bulb blew?”  
  
“No, but … maybe it’s a good time to lie down, alright?”  He said, needing to make sure Charlie stayed calm.  He was sure his brother was in a mild form of shock.  He didn’t care what anyone else would say about it; he just wanted to have his brother in his arms for a second to make sure he wasn’t hiding tremors under the layers he wore.  
  
“Nap time?”  
  
“Bed time maybe?”  Don suggested.  
  
 “You think our captor is giving us day and night?”  
  
“Guess we’ll just have to see how long this lasts.  Until then, let’s just lay back and relax.  Last thing we need is for one of us to break a leg trying to move around the room in the dark.”  
  
“Yeah, alright.”  
  
He sat back on the bed and pulled Charlie down with him.  Charlie didn’t fight him on it and when Don pulled him closer his brother rested his head on Don’s shoulder, one hand resting on his chest.  “Take a nap Charlie.  Might as well get some sleep while we’re stuck in the dark.”  
  
Charlie didn’t answer, but his body relaxed completely against Don’s.  Don let his hand run across the nape of his neck, his fingers tangling up in Charlie’s long curls.  He left his hand like that and Charlie let out a relieved sigh before slipping into sleep.  
  
Don stayed up a long time after, listening to Charlie’s breathing and trying to figure out how he could keep his brother safe.  Nothing came to him, but before he finally let his own eyes close, he let the thought pass through his head, that it felt good to have Charlie safe in his arms. 

 

 

 

  
Colby was looking at the room like it’d done something to offend him.  David understood the feeling.  They’d arrived to find nothing in the room but Charlie’s bag, packed for the next morning’s flight back to LA, and two spilled beer bottles.  They were getting forensics to look at the bottles but it seemed pretty obvious what had happened.  The locals didn’t want to call it an abduction, but David knew better.  
  
“Tapes?”  Colby asked as he looked up.  
  
“They’re getting them ready for viewing now.  I’ll see if I can find any evidence that Don or Charlie were followed to the room or taken out bodily.”  
  
Colby nodded.  It was all they could do for now.

 

 

 

  
When he woke, Don realized the lights were back on.  Charlie was still asleep, curled up against his side.  Don turned his head and looked down at his brother, taking in the slight furrow of his brow and the soft motion of his lips, he knew that he was dreaming.  He didn’t know what Charlie dreamt, but he hoped it wasn’t numbers.  
  
He pulled away slowly, trying to get out from under his brother without waking him.  Charlie simply burrowed into Don’s pillow trying to recapture the warmth.  He knew his little brother though, and knew that he’d be awake soon.  He took care of his morning business behind the curtain and wondered about the showerhead while he did so.  There were no taps to turn on, no way to get the water to flow.  
  
He moved back into the room and started searching the room for anything that might hide a camera or bug.  He was almost relieved when he found it, the camera was set into the corner of the room, small speakers on either side.  The placement gave the camera a full view of the rest of the room without obstruction, other than the curtain on the shower.   
  
He shivered at the thought of being watched like that, but he knew as soon as he woke up that there had to be some way for their captor to keep an eye on them.  He moved away from the corner and went to the cabinet, pulling the fruit out of the refrigerator.   
  
“Don,” Don looked back at Charlie, his brother was still wiping at his eyes and trying to wake the sleep from his mind.  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’re doing.”  
  
“What am I doing Charlie?”  
  
“Yesterday, you drank first, you ate first, just in case your assumptions about it being safe were wrong.  You don’t have to do that.  We’re in this together.”  
  
Don looked away, but he grabbed an apple and took a bite of it anyway.  He didn’t realize Charlie had been paying that much attention.  With no writing instruments to use Charlie was lost without his math and it looked like he was turning his focus to Don for the time being.  
The apple tasted fine.  It wasn’t like he expected it to be poisoned though.  He believed his assertion that their captor was keeping them alive and planned to keep them that way for a while, but there was a difference between risking his own life and risking Charlie’s.  
  
Charlie took an orange from the bowl and sat on the edge of the table since Don was in the only chair.  He peeled the skin of the orange back with his long fingers and offered Don a piece.  He took it with a smile.   
  
“You know, if we had a tv and some sports channels this might not be so bad.”  He said, trying to lighten the look in Charlie’s eyes.  His brother’s hair was a mess, curls tangling where he’d been pressed up against Don’s side the night before.   
  
“Yeah.”  Charlie said as he swallowed the orange slice.  “So, how long you think before the team finds us?”  
  
Don didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want their captor to know exactly what his thoughts were about his team’s chances.  He knew they were working on it.  He knew that they’d canvas the hotel and find out they’d gone missing, but their captor had put a lot of effort into the kidnapping.  Don didn’t have a lot of faith that he got sloppy and left clues behind for the others to claim.  It wasn’t something he was willing to admit out loud to Charlie so he just smiled.  “Not long.  They’ll be running themselves ragged while we’re hanging out down here, just relaxing.”  
  
“So I guess this is the vacation everyone was telling me I needed to take once I finished the book tour?”  
  
Don nodded.  Charlie’s eyes weren’t smiling back at him, but there was a quirk of his mouth that showed a little of his brother’s humor bleeding through the situation.  “Yep.  Sleep as much as you want, hang out with your big brother.  What more could you ask for?”  
  
“A steak dinner?”  
  
Don laughed.  “Yeah, that I could really go for.”  
  
  
  
The day passed without incident for them.  They tried the walls and there were no hollow spots.  The flooring was solid beneath them.  They took apart the curtain rod and used it to bang on the ceiling to see if there were any hollow spots there.  That paid off in that they found where they had probably been brought in, but the ceiling was too high for them to try to break through it.   
  
His brother was starting to close in on himself and Don had to stop Charlie’s train of thought more than once to try to get his brother back.  He didn’t think he would survive it if Charlie withdrew.  He needed his brother with him, needed to be able to bounce his thoughts off him and hear Charlie’s opinions.  
  
Don’s internal clock was telling him it was getting late in the afternoon when the shower suddenly turned on.  They both jumped slightly at the sound, but Don went and stuck his fingers under the running water to see there was nothing harmful coming from the faucet.  As near as he could tell it was just what it seemed to be.   
  
“Well?”  Charlie asked as he watched his brother.  
  
“Hot water.  Charlie, why don’t you take a shower?  Might not last long, but one of us might as well be clean.”  
  
Charlie didn’t wait for a second offer.  He pulled the curtain closed and stepped out of his clothes, kicking them to the side.  A muffled moan followed him as Don heard the water pattern change and knew that Charlie was submerging himself under it.  
  
“Charlie, let your clothes get wet.  We don’t have soap or anything but you can let them dry tonight.  Don’t know when we’ll get more water so you better use it.”  
  
Charlie didn’t answer but a pale arm crept out and grabbed his clothes, pulling them back behind the curtain.  Don could see Charlie’s ankles under the curtain, could see him stepping around the bundle of fabric as he washed himself off as best he could.   
  
“Hey Don… um… I don’t have a towel.”   
  
Don shook his head as he realized the problem he’d created.  He looked around the room for a second, then grabbed the blanket and pulled it down, pulling the loose sheet off the bed.  “All I got is a sheet Charlie.  Guess you get to go Greek tonight.”  
  
He felt Charlie’s fingers tighten in the fabric and he let it go, turning his back to give Charlie the privacy he needed.   
“I’m good Don.  You should… you know … get in too.  It’s still hot.”  
  
“Think we’re all out of towels Charlie.”  
  
“Oh… um … well when you get in I should be dry.  I’ll just leave it over there for you and I’ll go to bed.”  
  
Don thought about it for a second.  They didn’t know how often they’d get a shower and he hated the idea of wasting their drinking water on something like cleaning their clothes.  
  
“Yeah, okay.”  
  
He kicked his shoes off at the foot of the bed, and then walked over to the curtained area.  Not wanting to waste any water, he stepped under the stream still dressed.  He heard Charlie’s laugh on the other side of the curtain, an honest to god laugh.  It was worth the trouble of having to take off soggy clothes just to hear that.   
  
He let the water run over him for a minute, letting the tension fall away in the heat before he grabbed Charlie’s cargo pants and rinsed them thoroughly before hanging them over the shower curtain.  He did the same with all their clothes and was surprised when the water was still running warm.  He ran his hands through his hair a few times to scrub away the aches of the day before he looked over and saw the sheet Charlie had left.   
  
He grabbed the sheet, stepping away from the running water, and started drying himself off.  He’d barely gotten the sheet to his skin when the water shut off.  He wrapped the sheet around his body and looked over at Charlie who was lying on the bed, his back to Don.  He took a moment to watch his brother, to see the way his wet curls clung to his pale shoulders, the way his brother seemed to be closing in on himself again.  
  
“Charlie?”  He asked as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.  
  
“He’s watching us.  He turned the water off as soon as you were done.  He’s really watching us.”  
  
“Yeah.”  Don said, letting out a tired sigh.  “He is.  He has a camera up in the corner of the ceiling.  I don’t know if he can hear us, but he can see us, except behind the curtain.”  
  
“What are we gonna do Don?”  
  
Charlie sounded defeated and Don couldn’t help it.  He ignored their nakedness and slipped under the blanket, pulling Charlie around until his head was on Don’s shoulder.  “We’re gonna get through this Charlie.  No matter what happens, we’ll get through this.  We’ve got each other and we’re gonna take care of each other, right?”  
  
He felt the hesitant nod.   
  
“Charlie?  I need to know you got my back in here.”  
  
“Yeah Don.  Of course.”  
  
The lights went out and Charlie shivered into his side.  “Just go to sleep Charlie.  You never know what tomorrow might bring.”

 

 

 

  
“David, you gotta tell me something.”  
  
David looked at Alan, sitting across the coffee table from him and took a deep breath.  “Alan, you know I would, but there’s nothing to tell.  Don and Charlie were taken from the hotel on Saturday.  We’ve got the car on camera but only a partial on the license plate.  We’re looking for it but we don’t have any leads on it yet.  Whoever took them wore gloves so there were no fingerprints at the scene.  They made sure they weren’t leaving behind any forensic evidence.”  
  
“You can’t give up on them David!”  Alan suddenly stood and David had never felt quite as lost as he did, staring up at his boss’s father and trying to convince him they were doing all they could.  “Don wouldn’t give up on you and neither would Charlie!”  
  
“We’re not giving up.  We won’t ever give up, but I’m not going to lie to you.  We might be in this one for the long haul.”  
  
“But … you think they’re still alive?”  
  
He knew he shouldn’t give the man hope, but he couldn’t help himself.  “My gut says this is connected to the murders Alan.  They were taken for a reason and whoever did this is gonna keep them around to see it through, whatever that reason is.”  David stood and crossed over to Alan, gently laying his hand on the older man’s shoulder.  “And as long as they’re gone, we’re going to keep looking.”

 

 

 

  
It didn’t take long to fall into a pattern.  Don woke first in the morning and made sure nothing had changed over night.  Whenever Charlie woke up they’d eat breakfast together.  Don got Charlie to start doing crunches and push ups with him.  Charlie had always laughed about a mathematician needing a different kind of muscles, but with nothing else to do, he gave in quickly enough to ease the boredom.  Once they were done they’d talk about the case, always pushing away the knowledge that they were talking about themselves when they talked about ‘abductees one and two’.  They weren’t any better off with their theories, but they both felt that whatever was going to happen next would tip the scale for them, allowing them to understand what their captor was doing.  They’d eat lunch and then try to find something else to take their minds off it.  Don usually poked around at the walls again while Charlie sat on the bed, closing his eyes as his fingers moved before him as if they were writing on an invisible chalkboard.   
  
After they ate, the shower would inevitably run and they would each take their turn under the spray of water.  They’d crawl into bed together after, Don easing Charlie’s fears as he held his own at bay, until the lights went off around them.  
  
On their fifth day of captivity, the lights went out early.  Don pulled Charlie over to the bed and they lay down on it, trying not to kill themselves in the dark.   
  
“Why now?”  Charlie asked in a soft voice.  
  
“He’s just messing with us Charlie.  He wants to make us worry.  We’ll be okay though.  We’ve got each other’s backs.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah okay Don.”  
  
  
  
When Don woke, he knew instantly that something had changed.  He sat up and realized that there was a food tray set out on the table and a pile of clothes laid out.  He carefully shrugged Charlie off as he made his way slowly to the table.  He recognized the effects of the drug in his system and knew that their captor had come in to their enforced sanctuary to bring this to them.  
  
He felt sick to his stomach, but there was nothing he could do about it.  He looked at the clothes and realized there were two outfits, one for him and one for Charlie, clothing that could have easily come from their own closets.  Whoever this was, they’d been watching them for a while.  
  
Clean clothes were clean clothes though and he couldn’t think of a single reason not to put them on.  He stripped out of his black pants and button down shirt, even losing his briefs since new ones were in the pile too.  He slipped into the jeans and black tee that had been brought for him.  
  
“Don?”  
  
Don looked over his shoulder at Charlie as he tucked the tee shirt in.  “Morning Charlie.  It looks like we had a visitor during our nap.”  He tried to make it lighter than it was, tried to gloss over the fact that a murderer had been in the same room with them while they slept.  “They brought us some clean clothes.”  He threw the stack of Charlie’s clothes over to him and his brother just stared at it.   “Food too.  Smells like there just might be a real meal under there Charlie.”  
  
“Did he … did he mess with anything else?”  
  
“I haven’t checked the cabinet yet.  You want to take a look?”  Don asked, hoping to keep his brother’s mind from going where he feared it would go.  Charlie didn’t need to start worrying about what was happening to them when they were unconscious.  Don was already worried enough for both of them.   
  
Charlie checked the cabinet, but it looked like their captor had stocked up on their supplies.  Charlie moved back to the bed and then he was stripping and putting on the new clothes, a pair of khakis, a blue tee shirt, and a denim button up.   
  
“Wow.  It didn’t take long to forget how nice clean clothes feel.”  
  
Don smiled at his brother.  “Come on. Let’s see what we’ve got under here.”  
  
They pushed the table over to the bed and Charlie took a seat on the bed as Don pulled the chair over.  He pulled the lid off the tray and stared down at the food.  
  
“Wow.”  
  
“Apparently, he takes requests.”  Charlie’s voice was quiet but still sturdy as he spoke.  He didn’t waste any time in grabbing a plate though.   
Don was right behind him because while he’d been joking about a steak making the place better, it wasn’t something he wanted to pass up either.  The smell alone made his mouth water after living on canned foods and fruit for the past five days.  Charlie moaned around a mouthful of creamed spinach and Don tackled the steak without stopping to try anything else.  
  
In the end, they were both well sated when the meal was finished.   
  
Don pushed the table back over to the corner and lay down beside his brother as they looked up at the ceiling.   
  
“Know what I’m going to do first when I get out of here?”  
  
“Find some chalk?”  Don teased.  
  
Charlie let out a surprised laugh.  “No.  I’m going to treat myself to a day of anything I want.  Just … spoil myself.  Clean clothes and the best food, go someplace outdoors, someplace fun.”  
  
Don smiled.  “A ball game.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Might just tag along with you little brother.”  
  
Charlie smiled as he looked over at Don and Don couldn’t help but smile back.  “Any time Don.”

 

 

 

  
“Do you know why you’re here?”  
  
Don and Charlie startled, both looked up at the male voice that suddenly intruded on the private world they’d become accustomed to.  The voice was coming from the camera.  Don knew there were speakers up there, but he didn’t think they worked.  He knew better now.  For some reason, their captor was finally ready to speak to them.   
  
“Because you want something from us.”  Don said, his voice hard and unyielding.  He knew he was reacting too strong but his need to keep Charlie safe was interfering with his training.   “You have no right to keep us here.  Let us go now and I’ll make sure the FBI knows that you cooperated with the release of a federal agent.”  
  
The voice laughed and Charlie moved closer to Don, his chest pressed to Don’s back.  
  
“This isn’t the end Don.  It’s far from the end.  The FBI has no idea where you are and they never will.  You are mine to keep and I enjoy taking care of you Don, you have no idea how much I like taking care of you and Charlie.”  
  
“Enough to kill two women.”  
  
“Three.”  
  
Don stared up at the camera.  He thought with the two of them in their captor’s custody that everyone else would be safe.  It took a minute for the word to finally escape his lips, horror coloring his question.  “Who?”  
  
“I couldn’t leave Kim Hall in the equation.  It just didn’t make sense.”  
  
“You mean it just didn’t equate?”  Charlie pressed, sounding calmer than Don felt.  
  
“Exactly.  I did the math Charlie.  I took your classes and I read your book.  None of them made sense, so I started looking at my assumptions and I found that my assumptions were the problem.  I was taking for granted certain cultural restrictions that weren’t really relevant to this dynamic.”  
  
“What dynamic were you looking at?”  
  
“I wanted to understand how the man who created such an elegant solution to relationships was still unattached?    And how his closest family was also?  That was when I figured it out.”  
  
“You did the math.”  Charlie said quietly.  “You did the math on us.”  
  
Don looked back at Charlie because there was something small in his voice, something that reminded him of his brother being taunted by bullies and not wanting to tell Don.  When he tried to catch his brother’s gaze, Charlie refused to look him in the eyes.   
  
“So it became my goal to set this right.  I had a mission and I knew if I could just get you to see the math that you’d have to agree.  So here you are.  Tomorrow, you’ll have the equations.  But today, for all the things I’ve done for you, I need something in return.  For all the care I’ve given you, for all the work I’ve put into your well being, I need to see some progress.”  
  
“What do you mean progress?”  Don demanded.  
  
“I want you to kiss your brother Don.”  
  
“What?”  He felt Charlie’s head dip to bury itself between his shoulder blades.  He wanted to comfort his brother but there was nothing he could say to make any of this better.  They were at their abductor’s mercy and he couldn’t lie well enough to hide the shock and fear that would color his voice.  
  
“You heard me.  You will never find anyone that understands you the way Charlie does.  You will never find anyone that can support you and love you the way Charlie does.  I’ve done the math.  The two of you together is the only thing that equates.  Don, I know it will take you some time to realize it, to get past what you’ve been taught is right or wrong, but that’s why I’m here.  To make sure you’re on the right path.  So tonight, at some point before you go to sleep, I want you to kiss your brother.  Not a peck on the lips either, something real Don, something that shows your devotion to Charlie.”  
  
“You’re a sick fuck you know that?  I’m not playing this game.  You leave Charlie and me out of your twisted fantasies.”  
  
“You have until you fall asleep Don.  If you don’t, you aren’t going to like the consequences.”  
  
“Yeah?  And those are?”  
  
“Give me some progress.  Tomorrow morning Charlie, you’ll see in the morning.  You’ll see the math and you’ll know without a doubt that you were always meant to be your brother’s.”  
  
They could hear the microphone switch off.  Don stared at the camera, wishing he could reach through that connection and get to the man holding them, but then he turned away, knowing he had to deal with the situation.  He had no idea how to do that.  What kind of a sick freak kidnapped two brothers and tried to force them to make out for his benefit?   
  
“Charlie?”  
  
“Yeah Don?”  
  
Don could hear the tremor in Charlie’s voice and he had to fix that.  He didn’t know what was going to happen next, but he could do something about that.  “He’s just a sick fuck, alright?  I’m not going let him do anything to us.  Let’s just … sit tight.  If we ignore his game maybe he’ll leave us alone.  Maybe he’ll get bored with us, huh?”   
  
“I’m all for that plan.” Charlie agreed.  
  
“Good.  Let’s get something to eat then before I think too much about this mess and lose my appetite.”  
  
“Yeah.  Good idea.”   
  
There was that small note in Charlie’s voice again and as much as Don wanted to know what put that self-doubt in his brother’s mind, he didn’t think he had the strength just yet.  He had enough to worry about as it was.  He had no intention of kissing his brother and he couldn’t stop thinking about what the possible consequences could be.   
  
They ate in silence and Don didn’t try to breach it.  Charlie was drawing in on himself and Don couldn’t blame him.   Considering they’d just got a taste of their abductor’s plan, there was no way to think this was going to end well.  He forced himself to eat, knowing that no matter what happened he’d need his strength.  The end game was still the same after all, keep Charlie healthy and alive and get them the hell out of there.  
  
He’d already realized that unless their captor made a mistake, they were stuck.  There was no way to get to the ceiling entrance, the furniture was bolted down and even if they could get to the ceiling they had no idea what sort of safety measures were waiting outside that door.  They just had to wait for David and the team to bail them out.  The longer it took, the less likely that was to happen, but he wasn’t about to give up.  The team would keep looking for them until they had a body and Don wasn’t going to stop waiting for an opportunity to escape.   
  
Don was barely done eating when the shower snapped on. Charlie spent most of the time pushing his food around so Don left his brother with a small admonishment to eat before he fell under the calm of the hot water.  
  
When he was done Charlie had cleared the table so he had no idea if he’d eaten or not.  His face was still drawn, like it always was where there was a problem he couldn’t solve.  Don left him to his shower and slid into the bed.   
  
He tried not to think about what the sadistic voice had to say about their relationship or what sort of consequences there would be for disobeying him.  There was no way Don was going to go down the route the bastard was trying to force them on.  Years of working with the FBI had taught him that there were just some lines you couldn’t cross, you couldn’t let someone push you past.  Once you did, it was a slippery slope that you never recovered from.   
  
That didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about what would happen, so when Charlie came to bed and tried to put as much space between them as possible, Don pulled him close.  “Hey, just need to keep you close tonight, alright?”  
  
Charlie nodded and settled against his side.  There was so much tension in his frame that Don ended up running a hand up and down his back trying to sooth him.   
  
“What do you think he’s going to do Don?”  
  
“I don’t know, but I’ve got you Charlie, alright?  We’ll get each other through.”  
  
“Okay.”  Charlie said softly.  When he fell asleep, Don refused to let himself relax.  He needed to stay alert.  He forced his mind to focus on the day’s events but in the end it didn’t help him.  He heard the distinct hiss of gas being released in the room and even as he struggled to stay awake he knew it was useless.  Sleep finally overtook him.

 

 

 

  
Don woke the next morning alone.  He sprang out of the bed and nearly tripped over his brother.  Charlie was on the floor, curled in on himself.  Don cursed, knowing the telltale edginess in his body as the after affect of the drugs.   
  
“Charlie?”  
  
He squatted down beside his brother and when he pushed the hair back from his face he pulled back in shock.  Charlie’s eye was ringed in purple.  He moaned lightly as Don pulled him up from the floor and onto the bed.  As he stretched his brother out, he let himself take in the rest of the bruising, black and blue marks that streaked the left side of his face.  The one side was swollen where as the other side was completely unmarked.     
  
“I told you there would be consequences.”  
  
“You son of a bitch!”  Don turned to look at the camera.  “Don’t you dare touch him!”  
  
“Then perhaps you’ll remember to show a little more gratitude, Don.  I don’t want to hurt Charlie, but I’ll do what’s necessary to get through to you.  You have until tonight to kiss him Don.  And every day after you this will kiss him, you will show him how much you love him.  If you don’t, I’ll hurt him again, I’ll make you realize what that feeling in the pit of your stomach really is.”  
  
“Where do you get off playing with our lives like this?”  Don demanded.  There was no point in saying no again, in claiming he couldn’t or wouldn’t kiss his brother.  He couldn’t let Charlie hurt again, not for his disobedience and this guy knew it.  He had no way to defend them and no way to protect his brother. Their captor knew it all.  He knew Don would have no choice.        
  
“I’m helping you Don.  In the end, you’ll see that.  I care about you both and I just want to see you happy.”  
  
“Then let us go.”  
  
“You need to understand Don and you will eventually.  Once you learn this lesson, I promise, I’ll let you go.”  
  
“You’re just going to let us go?”  
  
“Yes.  I told you I don’t want to hurt you.  I’m not getting some sort of sick pleasure out of keeping you.  I’m just doing what I need to do.  A mind like Charlie’s needs to be understood.”  
  
“It was never about me and the girls was it?”  He already knew the answer, but he had to ask anyway.  
  
“It was always about you, Don.  You never let go of Kim.  You were just a step away from looking for Robin again.  Terry said she was thinking of coming back?  I had to make sure you would never turn away from Charlie again, that you would never again hurt him by trying to love someone else.  You’ll see Don.  I promise you, in the end, you’ll see.”  
  
“Don?”  
  
Don turned away from the camera to find his brother trying to sit up on the bed.  He must have been beaten while he was unconscious because there was too much confusion on his face for him to have been aware of what had happened to him otherwise.  
  
“Take it easy Charlie.”  He said softly, trying to comfort with words as his hands supported his brother’s movements.  
  
“Don, what happened?’  
  
“I woke up and you were on the floor buddy.”  He said, his hands still running over bruised flesh.  “He drugged us again last night.  Looks like you got a pretty good shiner.”  He didn’t mention the other bruises on his face or the swelling.  He didn’t mention how he hadn’t been able to protect him.  
  
Charlie’s eyes watered and Don pulled his brother into his embrace.  “It’s okay Charlie.”  
  
“No, it’s not.”  Charlie said softly as he curled his arms in around himself.  “What are we gonna do?”  
  
Don inhaled deeply, breathing in his brother’s scent.  “We’re going to do what he asks.”  
  
“What?”  Charlie pulled back, searching Don’s eyes.  
  
“Just a little kiss, right?”  Don said, trying to smile.  “I can’t let him hurt you again.  So we let him get his rocks off and we’ll be okay.”  
  
His brother didn’t say anything but Don nodded encouragingly.  “It’s alright Charlie.  It’s just me.”  
  
He didn’t know why he thought it was a good idea to act right then, but Charlie was close and he was scared and Don needed to do something to sooth him.  Part of him was screaming to just get it over with and part of him wanted to just wrap Charlie up in his arms and make everything go away.  But he couldn’t.   
  
Instead, he used one hand to tip his brother’s chin slightly.  He let his fingers slide along Charlie’s jawbone until his thumb was caressing his cheek.  He leaned in, ever so slowly to let his brother pull away if he chose.  Charlie’s eyes were wide, startled by Don’s actions, but he didn’t pull away.  He trusted Don to do this and Don had never been more grateful for it.  He let his lips brush lightly over Charlie’s, amazed at how soft his mouth was.  He’d never kissed a man before and it was odd that his brother’s lips should feel so familiar when the rest of the kiss, the feel of rough stubble on his cheek, the strength of the jaw line, all felt so different.   
  
His eyes closed and he pressed in again, catching Charlie’s upper lip between his lips.  Charlie opened up to him and Don let his tongue lick along the part before plunging into his mouth.  There was something that tasted so much of Charlie that he nearly moaned at it, the flavor of home and beloved and mine.     
  
Charlie’s tongue came out to meet his, dancing along the edges of his mouth, mapping and learning with an intensity that went into everything his brother did.   
  
It wasn’t the quick kiss to appease that he’d planned, instead it was the exploration of each other, of the one person that was most important in the world.  It was that understanding, the realization that Don was the most important person in Charlie’s life, that made Don pull back.  
He rested his forehead against his brother’s and took a deep breath.  
  
“Don?”  
  
“Just … you okay Charlie?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Rest Charlie.  I don’t want you moving around with those bruises, alright?”  
  
“Stay with me?”  Charlie asked quietly.  “I don’t … I don’t think I could sleep without you.”  
  
“Yeah, of course Chuck.”  
  
He lay down on the bed and Charlie carefully crawled into his side.  Charlie fell asleep almost immediately but Don sat staring at the ceiling for a long time, trying to figure out what it all meant.

 

 

 

 

  
“What are you working on Charlie?”  Charlie didn’t answer and Don closed his eyes.  “Tell me it’s not those stupid equations.”  
  
“This would go so much faster if I had something to write with.” Charlie said absentmindedly.  “I can work around it but it takes a lot longer.  I feel like I’m working in circles.”  
  
“Why are you working on it at all?”  
  
Charlie looked up from the papers that had been on the table the morning Charlie had woken, bruised and beaten.  Three days later and he looked a lot better, but Don knew his brother.  Charlie couldn’t relax on the bed without Don right there beside him.  It was driving Don insane, but he understood it.   
  
“I just, look Don.  I know this whole thing, me looking at his work is upsetting you, but maybe if I can show him where his math is wrong he’ll let us go.”  
  
Before he escalates went without saying.   
  
Don had found it far too easy to let himself fall into kissing his brother.  It was an easy show of affection between them.  It could easily be controlled once they were outside, and the more he showered Charlie with affection the more hospitable their captor had become.  They’d woken the night before with a full steak dinner, complete with Charlie’s favorite cheesecake, and two bottles of beer.  Another set of clean clothes had been brought down as well as their original clothes, freshly cleaned and pressed.  
  
Every time he felt like he was getting too comfortable though, he forced himself to think like an FBI agent and not a big brother and escalation was a steadily growing fear in his mind.  
  
Even with that on his mind, he dropped a kiss to the top of Charlie’s head.  He understood why his brother was working so hard on it now.  Charlie always used math to solve the problems in his life.  Without something else to focus on, he was trying to use the abductor’s math against him.  It was something Don could understood, something he was grateful for.  The Charlie that clung to him in the middle of the night was too much like the child he used to be.  This Charlie, the man ready to fling the numbers in their captor’s face, was the man he had come to know since his brother had started consulting with the FBI.    
  
Charlie looked up in surprise, a small half smile on his face.  “I just … you know … anything to help, right?”  
  
“It’s more than I’m doing right now Charlie.”  Don reassured him.  
  
“Don, don’t.  There’s nothing you could have done to stop this and if there was a way to get us out of here, outside of the math, I know you would have found it already.  It’s just who you are.  Like you said before, we’ve got each other’s backs.  I do what I can and you do what you can, and we’ll get out of here together, right?”  
  
Don nodded.  He turned to move and Charlie’s hand caught on his wrist.  
  
“Don, I just … I’m so tired.”  
  
Don nodded again, “Yeah come on, Charlie.  You can take a break.”  He pulled Charlie back to the bed.  Then his brother had his head on Don’s shoulder, one hand over his heart.  He looked down at Charlie and his little brother was leaning up, pressing a kiss to his lips.   
  
“Good night Don.”  
  
“Night Charlie.”  
  
Charlie always fell asleep quickly with Don at his side.  He was just about to try to move away when the voice was back again.   
  
“He needs you Don, you can see that.” Their captor said, trying to move Don with his compassion.   
  
It’d been happening for two days, every time Charlie fell asleep.   
  
“He’s not complete without you, without your touch.  I know why you’re fighting so hard, but  I can see the way you’re watching him, the want on your face.  I see the way you cling to each other when you kiss.  Think about how it would feel Don, to have him under you, to have him moaning your name.  Think about those beautiful brown eyes staring up into yours in awe as you give into the passion between you.”  
  
“Stop it.”  He said softly.  As much as he wanted to scream out his frustration he knew his voice was loud enough to be heard, and he didn’t want to wake Charlie.  His brother didn’t need to know about this special little hell that was Don’s.  
  
“Tonight Don.  I’ve given you a few days to take it to the next level and you haven’t, no matter how tempted I see you are.  Tonight, I don’t care how you do it, but you will touch him.  You’ll get him off Don and you’ll see.  You’ll never want anything as much as you want to touch him once you’ve started.”  
  
“I can’t.”  He choked out.  “He’s my brother.”  
  
“And you’re so good at protecting him Don.  I know you’ll take care of him tonight, so I don’t have to get involved.”  
  
Don closed his eyes at the threat and pulled Charlie in closer to him, trying to stop the desperate beating of his heart as he heard the intercom switch off.   
  
He didn’t know how he could do this, how he could convince his brother that this was alright, but he didn’t think he could live with the alternative.  There were lines Don refused to cross with his brother, but the lines seemed to be retreating back in the face of the physical pain he knew would be dealt out if he failed.  
  
He lay awake for a long time, rethinking his strategies for escape but nothing new came to him.  When he felt his brother stir beside him, he ran a hand through his curls, a gesture that had become far too intimate and happened far too frequently of late.   
  
“Don?”  
  
“You slept for about an hour Charlie.  You ready to wake up now?”  
  
Charlie smiled up at him as he sat up.  “I’m good now, thanks.”  
  
Don nodded and he could see Charlie’s frown develop as he caught Don’s mood.  “He was talking again Charlie.” Don said before Charlie could ask.  As much as he wanted to ignore the words he had to face it.  He couldn’t let Charlie think he was afraid, no matter how terrified he was.  “He said…” he paused then because it was easier to think of telling Charlie than it was to actually say the words.  “Escalation.”  
  
Charlie nodded.  “We talked about it before.  We knew if we didn’t get out of here sooner or later this would happen.”  
  
He seemed resigned to it and Don pushed up off the bed.  “No Charlie.  I can’t, I won’t take it like this.  I can’t do what he’s asking of me.”  
  
“What choice do we have Don?  We can’t stop him from coming down again.  He might take you away Don.”  Charlie followed Don off the bed, his knuckles while as he clutched his brother’s shirt in both hands.  “What would I do without you here?”  
  
“Charlie,” Don’s anger deflated around him as he rested his forehead on his brother’s.  “I just don’t think I can do it Charlie.”  
  
The lights went out and Don felt a chill settle into his bones.  “No!’ he yelled up at the camera.  “It isn’t time!”  
  
Charlie’s hands pulled Don in the dark, fumbling their way back to the bed.  When they sat, he twined their fingers together.  Don struggled to stay awake but in the end, the drugs were overpowering.  When he fell beside his brother his only hope was that maybe they’d take him instead. 

 

 

 

  
Charlie woke when Don tried to move him back up to the bed.  As soon as Don woke from his own drug induced slumber he’d found Charlie on the floor, shirtless.  His face and body were a mass of bruises though there was no black eye this time.  Angry red marks covered his right side, almost hidden behind the blue and purple coloring of his bruises.  Don shushed Charlie as he settled him on the bed, his fingers trailing over the damaged area from hip to cheek.  His left side was untouched and Don couldn’t help but feel their captor was leaving him a message with it.  See what you did.  This is how he should be, but you made me do this.     
  
“Don, what happened?” Charlie asked groggily.  His eyes opened in tiny slits and Don shook his head.  
  
“Don’t Charlie.  Just sleep a while longer.”  
  
“It hurts Don.”  
  
“Yeah I know.”  It was all he could say.  He couldn’t promise to protect him anymore.  There was only one way to do that and he wasn’t sure if that form of protection wouldn’t hurt his brother worse in the long run.  He and Charlie had always had an odd relationship, closer in ways than it should be but far more distant in others.  His need to protect his brother had always been paramount to Don’s existence.  That need to protect had been tempered by other feelings, resentment that had bordered on hate at times, jealousy, and envy at the spotlight that his brother found in his genius.   
  
Their relationship had evolved though since Charlie began working with the FBI.  He understood his brother better and he thought it went both ways.  Now, there was respect and concern.  Protection and love still, but they knew one another.  Hell, they liked one another.  Some of Don’s favorite memories included Charlie hanging out with him and the team or just going over to Charlie’s to have dinner with him and Dad.  Things had changed a lot in the past few years.  It had been good.  He didn’t know what this was going to do to that though.   
  
Don could hear Charlie’s breathing even out as he fell back to sleep and he took a deep breath, lying beside him.  He catalogued the bruises in his mind and tried hard to ignore the fact that not only was Charlie beaten, but someone had taken his shirt off as well.  Someone had undressed him, had touched him in ways that no one had a right to.  He bit down on his anger but he couldn’t stop the glare that was directed at the camera.  No one had a right to touch Charlie but him.    

 

 

 

  
The next morning Charlie was able to move around better.  The bruises were just superficial, no damage to anything like his ribs though Don didn’t know if that was by design of just luck.  Some of the blue and purple marks were already giving way to ugly green and yellow as Charlie’s body began to heal.   
  
When Don did his sit ups in the morning Charlie stretched along side him, unable to do the exercise because of the bruises but working the kinks out of his body as best he could.   
  
Don hated to think about what he was going to do, but he didn’t have a choice.  Their abductor hadn’t come back to talk to him but the threat was still there, underlying everything they did.  Charlie didn’t say anything about it and he wouldn’t.  Don knew it was his choice to make.   
  
Charlie would take the beatings if Don said he couldn’t do what was needed, but Don knew he couldn’t watch that again.  He couldn’t be the cause of Charlie’s abuse.  If something had to happen, he’d rather it be at his own hands, where he could sooth and calm his brother.  No matter how he tried to work around it, his mind always came back to that.  He had to take care of Charlie and if that meant something far more intimate than it ever had before, he’d find a way to do it.    
  
It was later that night when Charlie was under the spray of the shower that Don decided to do what was necessary.  He couldn’t do it in the shower in case their captor took it as a cheat, but he could at least get them started like that.  He waited until he could see Charlie’s arms outstretched, his hands braced above him on the wall as he let the water ease him.  Don stripped quickly and slid behind the curtain with Charlie.  
  
“Don?”  
  
Charlie’s eyes were wild, like he was afraid Don was about to bite and Don didn’t blame him.  “Charlie, I …”  
  
He felt his eyes drop slightly but then Charlie was right there, one hand tilting his head up.  “Escalation?”  Don nodded, unable to speak with the way Charlie was looking at him, so trusting and open and honest.  “Okay Don.  I trust you.  I know you’re doing what you have to.”  
  
Don smiled but he knew it wasn’t real.  It was better than nothing though.  “I promise it’s not going to hurt Charlie.  If I do it right, you should actually feel pretty good.”  
  
Before Charlie could respond Don slipped his hand into Charlie’s wet hair and leaned down, kissing him lightly until his brother’s mouth opened to him.  He deepened the kiss, walking them slightly back until he could press Charlie up against the wall.  
  
He pulled back, dropping his forehead to rest on Charlie’s.  “’s okay Charlie.” He said, his voice rough and shaky with the knowledge of what he was doing.  “Just go with me.  Just feel this, alright?  It’s okay to feel this.”  
  
When he kissed his brother again, Charlie moaned into it and Don felt the slow churning in his stomach that he’d been trying to push away.  He took his own advice then, forcing himself to focus on the feel of his brother and nothing else.  
  
He pulled Charlie away from the shower, suppressing the shiver when it shut off behind him.  His brother’s arms wrapped tightly around him and Don walked them, wet and dripping, back to the bed.  The image that their captor had been trying to push onto him came too quickly.  When he thought about pulling Charlie onto the bed and rolling them over until his brother was under him, he sat down instead and pulled Charlie until he was straddling his lap.  He nipped at his brother’s neck until Charlie angled his face towards him.  Don’s lips caught his in a kiss to keep from getting overwhelmed by the sensations as his hands began to caress his brother’s skin.   
  
Charlie’s arms settled around his shoulders and Don wrapped his fingers over his hips, pulling him close.  He’d never felt anything like this, never had the press of another man against his body and his libido was taking far too much interest in the proceedings for Don’s liking.  He focused on his brother again, on the sounds he was making, and on the way his hips seemed to hitch up whenever his body pressed against Don’s stomach.   
  
He shivered at the feel of it and let one hand fall from Charlie’s hips, massaging his thigh lightly.  When he wrapped his fingers around Charlie’s hard cock, his brother pulled back from the kiss, his eyes catching Don’s.  “Don?”  
  
“Just feel it Charlie, remember?  Just stay in this moment, don’t think about anything else.”  
  
Charlie closed his eyes, a half nod lost at Don’s down stroke.  Charlie thrust his hips up into the tight circle of his fist and let his head fall back, his hands grabbing Don’s shoulders for leverage.  He wasn’t the passive participant that Don had always imagined he’d be, hips meeting Don’s every stroke and then he was pulling Don’s face up and crushing their lips together.   
  
Don moaned into the kiss, unable to stop himself as Charlie took control of the encounter from him.  Charlie’s hand slid from his shoulder and wrapped around his cock and his body responded instantly.  He’d been trying to suppress any sort of desire that had come from his brother’s closeness, from his proximity every night to the intimate press of lips on his, but this was just too much.  
  
He didn’t try to fight it anymore as he thrust up into Charlie’s fist and felt his brother doing the same.  “Don... Don… I’m gonna …”  
  
“Yeah Charlie … come on …”  
  
He felt the wet splash of his brother’s come spilling between them and then Charlie was licking into his mouth as Don followed, his orgasm spiraling out of control into his brother’s hand.  
  
It took a few minutes to get his breathing back under control.  Then Charlie was reaching down for the sheet they used for a towel and cleaned them up without detaching himself from Don’s lap.   
  
Charlie didn’t look at him and Don was about to ask if he was okay when Charlie cut him off.  “Sleep?”  
  
“Um yeah, sure Charlie.”  
  
Charlie got off his lap then and slid under the blankets, leaving Don to stare after him for a few minutes before he finally slid in beside his brother.  Don turned onto his side and Charlie spooned up in front of him, wrapping Don’s arm around his waist.  
  
Don closed his eyes and was surrounded by his brother’s scent and the soft, contented sigh that left Charlie’s lips.  When his eyes opened again it was dark in the room.  
  
He took a deep breath and prayed to whoever was out there that they were found soon.  Between Charlie’s growing dependence on Don and the voice that whispered nasty things every time Charlie fell asleep, he wasn’t sure he was going to make it out of the room sane.  
  
“So beautiful, your Charlie.”  The malicious voice said as he was just about to drift off to sleep.  “You see it now don’t you?  You were always meant to love him.”  
  
He felt tears prickle his eyes and was grateful for the darkness so their tormentor couldn’t see.  He laced his fingers tighter through Charlie’s and begged silently for forgiveness for the thoughts in his head.  The only word that escaped his lips was “Charlie.”  God help him, the voice was right.  He knew.  Damn them all, he knew.

 

 

 

 

  
  
 

“There’s nothing new.”  David said, sitting across from the others.  They could hear the regret in his voice, they all felt it as their own.  Alan sat in his favorite chair and Megan was next to Larry on the couch.  Colby was moving behind him, his partner never able to stay still for long.   
“We aren’t giving up yet, but we have nothing.  The investigators at DC are trying to retrace the scenes and redo their interviews, but if we don’t get a break soon, they’ll be moving on to something else.  We won’t stop looking Alan, but right now, we’ve got nothing to look at.”  
  
Alan’s hands were between his knees, his back bowed with the weight of it all.  “I know you’re doing your best.”  
  
His words were soft and David had to look down.  They were doing their best, damn it.  They’d turned everything upside down but until something new happened they had nothing.  Don and Charlie were out there somewhere, he had to believe that, but even though he believed, he knew that DC thought they were a lost cause.  They were looking for a pair of bodies, not live captives.  They had been since the day Kim Hall’s body had been found.  
  
It didn’t sit well with David, that the three women had all been killed within a two days period.  It was purposeful and methodic.  If the abductor wanted Don and Charlie dead he’d have done it the same way.  No matter that DC agreed with his idea, the lack of leads was making them doubt that.  
  
He looked up at Alan, at the father, the man he’d come to respect and care for in his own right, and steeled himself.  They would find them.  No matter how long it took, he wasn’t giving up.  
  
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Colby’s tight lipped smile.  He looked over at Megan and saw the determination in her eyes as she gripped Larry’s hand between her own.  None of them were.  They’d get Don and Charlie back one way or another.

 

 

 

  
There was no warning.  That was Don’s first thought as he woke.  They’d just eaten lunch when the lights went out.  Charlie’s hand gripped Don’s shirt and they huddled in the corner instead of crawling towards the bed.  He didn’t know if Charlie understood, but Don was looking back at his own choices, trying to see where he’d started giving in to their tormentor and the bed itself seemed to be the first.  Each night they crawled in together, each time the lights went out and they sought solace in each other’s arms, it was a little bit of his resistance eaten away.   
  
He realized with a grunt that he was still in the corner, but he was by himself.  He stood slowly as soon as his eyes caught his brother.   
There were no bruises, nothing broken or bleeding.  He could tell as he looked across the room at the bed where his brother was laid out.  He was naked, spread out on the bed like a banquet for Don’s eyes.  And he was.  Charlie was beautiful, he always had been.  From his soft brown eyes that conveyed his conviction to the curls Don loved to run his fingers through to the tips of his fingers that were always tinted with whatever chalk or dry erase marker he’d been using that day, he was breathtaking.  
  
There were items on the table and Don moved to that to keep his hands from touching his brother.  Every night since he’d crossed that line, he’d used his hands to touch his brother, to tease his pleasure from him until he was a writhing mess beneath him.  He’d come to love the feel of it, to love the feel of Charlie’s fingers wrapped around him in return, of his brother’s hard muscles and delicate lips.   
  
He took a deep breath as he recognized the condoms and bottle of lubricant set out for him.  A simple note sat beside it.  It wasn’t as obtrusive or invasive as the voice coming through the speakers, but in ways it was far more intimidating.  It was simple.   
  
_Do it or I will._  
  
He dropped the letter behind the cabinet, hoping that his brother never saw it.  He didn’t need to see the threat.  It was enough that Don had.  He got the point.  Their captor could come and take Charlie anytime he wanted.  He could hurt him.  He could touch him, strip him down and leave him naked.  The only thing Don could do to stop it was to do this himself.  
  
He closed his eyes, remembering how it felt to give in to that first kiss, to remember how his brother’s face had looked when he’d woke the first time.  He remembered his bruised torso, and then the way Charlie had felt coming apart in his hands.  He tried to think what it would be like to say no to this, to wake in the morning and know that someone had taken his brother, that someone had brutally raped him, and he couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t make himself think of it because it wasn’t something he could let happen.  
  
“Damn you.” He whispered into the room.  He didn’t have the ability to shout about it anymore, nor the desire to.  He knew he was too far broken for that.  He’d been moved and maneuvered to his point since day one and as much as he’d tried to fight, he was going to lose.   
Charlie moaned on the bed and Don grabbed the items from the table and dropped them off the side of the bed as he stripped his shirt off.  He crawled up the bed to lay behind his brother.   
  
“Don?”   
  
Charlie’s voice was still thick with the sleep and Don decided it would be better to use that.  Charlie wouldn’t question him so quickly if he was still half out of it from the drugs.  It was a coward’s way to do it, but Don knew he’d lost his strength somewhere along the way.  He would be whatever their captor needed him to be, to keep Charlie in that room with him.   
  
He kissed the back of Charlie’s neck and his brother moaned softly as he molded himself into Don’s body.  He took advantage of that, letting his hand roam over his brother’s side and down to his hip.  His fingers trailed along Charlie’s inner thigh until his fingers were curling in the soft hairs just beneath his navel.   
  
Charlie pushed back into Don, opening his legs slightly and Don took his brother’s cock in hand.  When Charlie’s head turned to the side invitingly, Don didn’t hesitate to press their lips together.  He continued to stroke his brother, swallowing his moans until he knew he had to stop.  He sat up and pushed Charlie down flat on the bed.  He fumbled over the side of the bed to find the bottle and condoms he’d dropped there, ignoring the way Charlie’s eyes followed his movements.  He didn’t look him in the eye as he settled back between his brother’s legs, but when he pressed their lips together Charlie opened for him, showing Don a degree of faith and trust he didn’t feel he deserved.  
  
He forced himself to concentrate on Charlie again, to forget why it was all wrong and just feel his brother underneath him, to know how good it felt to have him safe in his arms.  Charlie didn’t squirm away when he brought slicked fingers to the entrance of his body, nor did he turn away in surprise when he was breached.  Instead he locked his eyes with his brother, love and acceptance written across his face as strong as it had ever been.  
  
“Tell me Charlie,” Don whispered.  
  
Charlie moaned as Don pressed his finger in and out, a slow glide that seemed to be working for his brother.  “Yeah,” his voice was broken with desire.  “S’ good Don.  I’m ready for more.”  
  
He had to trust his brother to know his own body so Don pressed in a second finger.  He took his time, working Charlie open.  He’d never been with a man before but he wasn’t sheltered.  He knew what happened between two men, knew enough about preparation and how to read a lover that it wasn’t completely alien to him.  He added more lubricant to his fingers and then added a third after Charlie started pushing his hips back into Don’s thrusts.   
  
“Don, now…”  
  
He pulled his fingers free of his brother’s body then ripped open the condom.  He put it on and slicked himself up before pulling Charlie’s hips up against his thighs, angling him.  He lined up with his brother’s hole then and pushed slowly in.  He watched Charlie’s face for the pain but his brother took deep, steady breaths and then Don was fully sheathed in his body.  
  
He closed his eyes, wanting to remember the feel of it and wanting to block out the look on his brother’s face at the same time.  Charlie was so god damned beautiful and it made his heart break to see him like that, his breath short, his face and chest flushed with passion, his eyes wide and trusting, showing nothing but love back at him.   
  
He pulled out slightly to see how Charlie’s body reacted and there were no signs of distress so he pulled back further then pressed in again.  He found a rhythm and then Charlie was setting his feet on the mattress firmly, getting his own leverage as he forced Don deeper and harder.  Charlie moaned, his fingers biting into the sheets as Don found the bundle of nerves inside him.  Don angled himself for it again, took pleasure in hitting it over and over, knowing he needed to make it good for Charlie, make this into something beautiful and not something that would scar him forever.  
  
He concentrated on that again, on his brother and how important this moment was for them, on how sex itself was an amazing gift that they were able to treasure together for a little while.  
  
Charlie reached up and pulled Don down to him, crashing their lips together and Don didn’t fight it.  He let Charlie take what he wanted as he continued to piston in and out of his body.  When he felt Charlie’s body start to tremble, he reached between them and began to stroke him in time with his thrusts.  
  
“Don!” Charlie screamed his name as his body seized tight around him, painting their bodies with his release.   
  
“Charlie,” he panted into his brother’s ear, “fuck, Charlie.”   
  
His own orgasm came a moment later.  He couldn’t clearly remember pulling out of his brother or pulling off the condom.  He did remember staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep as his brother’s beauty continued to taunt him, unable to stop replaying those moments in his head, unable to forget the gift he’d taken from his brother.  He heard the telltale hiss of gas entering the room and for the first time, he was grateful for the sleep it would bring.

 

 

 

  
“David!  I got a hit on the car.”  
  
“What?  Where?”  
  
“Tempe, Arizona.”  
  
“Why is he moving the car now?” David asked Colby as he grabbed his jacket.  
  
“Megan got the call and she was-” his cell phone rang and he picked it up as they walked out the doors of the FBI.  “Megan?” he paused a minute, listening to her.  “Okay, so that would explain it.  Alright, thanks.”  
  
Colby looked at him and smiled, the first real smile he’d seen from his partner since the whole thing began.  “The car was found near a college, one of those high price tech schools.  They’re just starting back from break so it looks like we’re dealing with a student or maybe a professor.  Megan’s on the phone with the locals to get someone to follow it, but with orders to hang back until we get there.  She’s also got our tickets for the flight.”  
  
“Have I told Megan how much I love her lately?”  
  
“No man, but when we get Don and Charlie back, we’ll all make it up to her.”  
  
David laughed, feeling lighter than he had since they’d gotten news of Terry’s death fifteen days earlier.

 

 

 

  
Breakfast was waiting.  Don sat up in bed and took a deep breath then thought better of inhaling too deeply when his stomach revolted.  It wasn’t the food, but the memory that made him want to lose the contents of his belly.  Charlie was still asleep at his side, a small smile on his face.  Don wanted to kiss him awake, to press Charlie into the mattress and bury himself in that incredible heat that he’d found waiting for him the night before, but he forced himself out of bed instead.   
  
He threw his clothes on and went to the table to find large trays of food waiting.  Pancakes and bacon, biscuits with sausage gravy, muffins and bagels and eggs, a virtual feast set before him in reward for having sex with his brother.   
  
He wanted to throw up, but then Charlie sat up in bed and smiled softly at him.  “Hey.  Sleep good?”  
  
No, he really hadn’t.  Or he wouldn’t have except for their dose of drugs.  “Yeah.  Are you hungry?”  
  
“Starved.”  
  
Don looked away as Charlie started to dress, but he couldn’t help but look over and assess the bruises that were still healing on his brother’s body.  He bit his lip to keep from saying anything when he realized how carefully he was moving because of Don’s actions.   
  
Charlie sat across from him, his feet brushing against Don’s in a way that was meant to comfort but it made him even more uneasy.  In everything that had happened between them, his bother’s acceptance seemed to be without limit.  He didn’t know how Charlie was sitting next to him without screaming, but Charlie seemed no different today than any other day, no sign whatsoever that he’d been forced to have sex with his big brother.  
  
“Damn it Charlie, how can you do this?”  
  
Charlie looked up in surprise as Don pushed away from the table.  “How can you sit across from me when last night… last night I …”  
  
“You what Don?”  Charlie’s hands were folded neatly in his lap and there was an expression on his face that made Don think he’d been waiting for this.  “You made love to me last night?”  
  
“Charlie,”  
  
“No Don.  What do you want me to say?  That I’m sorry?  I’m not, alright?  He didn’t take you!”  There was a tremor in his voice that Don wanted to silence but Charlie was nothing if not adamant when he got started.  “I was the one that woke up bruised.  The pain wasn’t that bad but,” he stood up as he hesitated, pain and confusion evident in his eyes, “he took me.  He could have done anything.  And when you let him take me the second time…”  
  
Don took a step closer and Charlie put his hand up, pressing against Don’s chest to keep him from stepping any closer.  “So you’ll forgive me if I’m glad it happened last night.  I’m not sorry you were willing to love me enough to keep me safe.  I’m not sorry you protected me.”  
  
 Tears began to fall down Charlie’s face then and when Don stepped closer his brother folded into his arms.  “I’m not sorry that your touch is the only thing that makes me feel safe anymore.”  He looked up and pressed his lips to Don’s.  “I’m not sorry that I love you so damn much that being with you here makes sense to me.”  
  
Don closed his eyes as Charlie’s nose pressed into his neck, kissing the flesh just beneath his ear.  He held him tight until his tears dried and the only thing that was left was the need to comfort and console, the only way Don and Charlie could anymore. 

 

 

 

  
David looked up as Colby hung up his cell phone.  “Larry pulled through for us!” he said as he quickly crossed the distance between them.  The student union was a mess of students running to class, rushing to eat before the next one, and students just missing class all together.  It was busy and as good a place as any for them to stumble upon their kidnapper.   “He remembers the guy.  He was one of Charlie’s students, one who was constantly hanging around trying to talk to Charlie.  The name was Adam Michaels.  We’ve got an address too.”  
  
“We got back up on the way?”  
  
“Local has been told to wait on our direction.”  
  
David smiled.  “Time to go get the boss back.”

 

 

 

  
Don pulled Charlie back against him, backing them both to the corner,pushing his brother’s body behind his as they crouched low on the ground.  The pounding on the ceiling made Don look up again even as he leaned back slightly, trying to give Charlie what little comfort he could to stop the trembling of his body.  It was no use.  The room was still sealed and as soon as the first large crash had sounded the lights went out.   
  
Safety came to them from knowing their position, from knowing what the man on the other side wanted, but there hadn’t been any demands on them since Don took Charlie as a lover.  The noise upstairs was new and terrifying because it could be anything.  
  
A part of Don relayed facts, the part that still held out hope of discovery, that it could be the pounding of feet, seizing their captor, it could be their team searching the premise.   
  
Don’s fearful mind tossed those aside and began to wonder what sort of perverted hell they were going to be sent into next.  He pushed the thoughts aside because as much as he feared what he would be asked to do, there was a part of his brain that supplied a list of things he’d enjoy doing as well.  
  
  He took a deep breath and listened.  This wasn’t their usual black out.  There was no gas being ventilated into the room.  A normal black out would mean a reward for good behavior but they’d been asked to do nothing since he took his brother as a lover.  If it was one of their black outs something was going wrong and Don was determined to do what he must to escape.   
  
Whatever was happening upstairs didn’t bode well for them and Don didn’t know how much more he could give of himself and still come back from it.  The way Charlie clung to his arm, he wondered if his brother ever would come back.  He tried not to think of it, to remember his brother’s confession, his own willingness to give in to Charlie’s demands as much as he had their captors but Charlie’s body pressed behind him made it almost impossible.     
  
There was pounding on the floor and what sounded like gunshots.  “Charlie, get up.” Don said as he stood and took a step away from his brother.   
  
“Don, what’s happening?”  
  
“I’m not sure Charlie, but I need you to listen.  Go hide behind the shower curtain.”  
  
He felt Charlie pulling away from him, obeying even when Don knew his brother didn’t want to.  Charlie slowly shuffled across the room, making his way through the dark.  Don heard the fabric rustling and knew that Charlie was in the corner, hidden.  
  
“Don, just do what he wants.  Don’t leave me.”  
  
The demand in his voice didn’t cover the fear and Don wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Charlie, to keep him close, keep him safe and comforted.  He wanted to push the hair back from his eyes and kiss him so sweetly that his brother never knew fear again.   
He closed his eyes against the thought and focused on the sounds above them.  The footsteps were louder and there was a sudden banging sound above them.  It was right above what they believed was their captor’s entrance.   
  
“No matter what happens Charlie, stay quiet.”  
  
“Don,”  
  
“I’m not leaving you Charlie, but you have to trust me a little longer.”  Charlie didn’t answer but the silence spoke for him.  
  
There was another loud sound from above, like a board breaking overhead.  It was followed by a grating screech and then light burst into the room as the hatch in the ceiling opened up.  Don covered his eyes with his hand to block some of the light out.   
  
“Don?”  
  
He thought his knees might give out from relief but he held himself upright in case it was a trick.  “David?”  
  
“We’re looking for a ladder.  Do you need medical help?”  
  
“No, just get us the hell out of here!”  Don called up anxiously.  He didn’t move and as he waited his eyes adjusted to the light.  Time seemed to stretch out into hours but he knew it couldn’t have been more than five minutes before a ladder was lowered through the ceiling hatch.   
  
There was movement as a man came down the ladder and even though he knew in his mind who it was, he couldn’t place the face with the body he saw coming down.  When the man was down the ladder and turned, Don’s body tensed, ready to strike out at need or opportunity.  The man in front of him pulled his hands up in a soothing gesture.  “Don?  It’s just me.”  
  
“David?”  
  
“Yeah man, you’re ready to get out of here, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” a short panicked laugh escaping before he could stop it.  “Yeah.”  
  
“Where’s Charlie?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Don, where is Charlie?”  
  
He expected his brother to answer, to come out of the shower and let himself be found, but there was no sound.  The silence was eerie and he could see David tensing for bad news.  “Charlie, it’s okay to come out now.”  
  
“Don?”  
  
“Right here Charlie.  It’s alright to come out now.”  There was no sound.  “Charlie, come to me.”  
  
He turned his back on David and watched as Charlie came out of hiding.  He was closed in on himself, shoulders hunched and arms held tightly around his waist, until he reached Don’s side.  Then he wrapped himself around Don like his brother could keep away all the evil of the world, like David and the team just might be a threat.  
  
He closed his eyes as he wrapped an arm over Charlie’s shoulder, kissing the top of his head.  “Come on Chuck, time to go home.”  
  
“Don’t leave me Don.”  
  
The words were whispered against his neck and Don tightened his grip on Charlie’s shoulder.  “I’m here Charlie, always gonna be right here to take care of you.”  
  
He could see the confusion in David’s eyes but he didn’t have any answers for it.  Charlie knew David was safe, knew the rest of the team would never hurt him, but it didn’t matter.  Right now, Charlie only felt safe with him and that felt right.  The fact that Don didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty or hesitant to accept it though had him very concerned.  
  
  
The trip up the ladder was hard because Charlie refused to let go of Don.  In the end, Don had to go up first with Charlie trailing right after him, always able to see him, able to brush against Don as he climbed out.  
  
Don stooped at the top waiting for him, and as the rest of the team pulled closer to try to comfort him Charlie pulled even further away, pressing into Don’s back to keep them from getting within arm’s reach.

 

 

 

David was just coming up the ladder when the medical people came swooping in.  David didn’t know what he expected to happen, but seeing Charlie clutch Don, Charlie who was as brave as any man David had ever met, took more out of him than he wanted to admit.  Seeing Don allow it, seeing their team leader holding everyone back away from his brother just showed how badly hurt the two of them were, even if Charlie was the only one with bruises.  
  
“Don,” David said softly, hoping that his status as first man down the ladder might help him get a little more trust.  “We need to get you checked out.  I know you’re worried about Charlie.  Let’s get him to the hospital man.  Let’s get him the medical help he needs.”  
  
Don looked up at him, dark eyes cold and calculating before he turned his head slightly to look at the way Charlie cowered behind him.  “Charlie?”  
  
Charlie didn’t answer but David could see the way the fabric pulled closer across Don’s chest as Charlie’s hands burrowed deeper into the back of his shirt.   
  
“Think about it Don,” he said again.  “Use your head.  You can stay with him the whole time, but I know you want the best for him and that means making sure the doctors can take care of him.”  
  
“Don, let us help.”  Megan said from behind him.   
  
Don’s eyes focused on her, a new threat assessed and dismissed as he looked back at David.  “I stay with him the whole time David.  No guards, just me.”  
  
“Alright Don.  This is your show, you call the shots.  Let’s get you two into the ambulance now,”  David agreed.  He didn’t like the idea of no guards, but from the looks of the place, and the position of the camera, he figured Don and Charlie had had enough of being watched.   
  
Don nodded, but turned to his brother instead of addressing David.  He pulled Charlie into his arms, whispering something into his little brother’s ear and Charlie seemed to settle himself more firmly into Don’s arms.  Don ran a soothing hand over his arm and shoulders and then they were walking towards the ambulance.  
  
He stayed behind them, not willing to let anyone else close, but Colby and Megan were right behind him.  “What the hell happened to them?”  He heard Colby ask under his breath.  
  
They stood back as Don took over with the medics, his arm around Charlie, explaining injuries and keeping the EMT from doing much more than listening.   
  
“I don’t think they’re going to be able to separate them.   They’re going to have to be sedated.”  Colby sounded as tired as they all felt.  They had been hoping to find the Eppes brothers alive in that room, but he hadn’t expected them to come out like that.  
  
“Whatever this is, it isn’t good guys.”  Megan said softly.  “Don’s always been protective but not like this.  Whatever that bastard did, it was brutal and intense.”  
  
“You have an idea what it was?”  
  
Her eyes looked haunted as she nodded, biting her bottom lip before answering.  “Yeah, I just pray to God I’m not right.”

 

 

 

 

When Don woke he could feel the hazy cloud around his thoughts. He knew what it meant and panic gripped him as he sat up in the hospital bed, looking for his brother.  
  
"He's right here," he heard Megan's words but it was only after he saw his brother lying in the hospital bed next to him, no new injuries, nothing but what he’d had when they left captivity, that he could relax even in the slightest.  He turned to look at the FBI agent then.  
  
"Has he woken up yet?"  
  
"No," she said with a fond smile for his brother. She was sitting in a chair beside Don’s bed, her clothes rumpled as if she'd been there a while. "You remember how hysterical he was when they tried to take him to run the tests?"  
  
He had a vague recollection of it so he nodded.  "Do you remember pushing the nurse out of the room?  Or hitting the doctor when he tried to calm you down?"  
  
"Shit. No I don't remember that."  
  
"They had to sedate both of you so they could get Charlie checked out," she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees as she looked at him. "So, you ready to tell us what happened to you two?"  
  
Don glared at her because it was the last thing he wanted to do even if a small part of him knew that he had to.  
  
"Look Don, I know it had to be bad but Alan is going to be here soon and from the way you two are acting I'm pretty sure there are things you aren't going to want to say in front of him."  
  
"Like what?” Don demanded.  “You think I have something to hide Megan?"  
  
Megan sat back at the anger in his words, bringing her hands up as if to sooth him. "No Don, I just meant that you'll want to spare your dad from the worst of the details.  I thought you’d rather get this out of the way before he was around.”  
  
He shivered as he looked over at Charlie. His fingers itched to touch his brother, to hold him until he woke from the drugged sleep.  He wanted to reassure him that he was safe with soft kisses and whispered words that only Charlie could hear. He knew it was wrong, knew it was all manipulation and situational stress, but that didn't change his need to touch and taste, to feel his brother's life strong under his hands.  It didn’t erase the memories of doing all those things and more to keep his brother safe.  
  
“It was bad, okay?  He drugged us at the hotel and when we woke we were in that room.  The only exit was through the ceiling but we couldn’t get out.  He …” Don paused because there was only so much he was willing to tell.  If Charlie needed him to admit more, he’d think about it, but for now he was staying with the basics.  “He would shut off all the lights so we couldn’t move around and he’d push some sort of gas through the ventilation of the room.  Sometimes when we woke up, there would be clean clothes, or more fresh food, but other times…” he paused, taking a deep breath as his eyes searched out his brother again.  “Other times we woke and Charlie was hurt.”  
  
“Don?”   
  
He heard his brother’s panicked voice and Don was out of his bed before he realized he’d been planning to move.  “Hey Charlie, I’m right here.”  He said as he tried to get to his brother.  The IV line held him back but he grabbed the damn pole it was on and wheeled it over to Charlie’s bed.  
  
“Don, I don’t think you’re supposed-“  
  
“How you feeling?”  Don ignored Megan’s attempt to interrupt as he sat himself on the edge of Charlie’s bed.  Charlie looked at Megan and then back at Don before reaching for his brother.  Don slid further onto the bed, letting himself wrap his arms around Charlie as they settled in the same bed together.  
  
“Better now.”  Charlie yawned into his brother’s chest.  
  
When Don looked back up at Megan he gave her one final nod.  “We’re done here.”

 

 

 

  
“How is he doing?”  David asked as soon as Megan walked out of the room.  
  
Megan shook her head and David was almost afraid of what she was going to say.  He could see the defeat in her eyes and as much as he wanted to just bury his head in the sand and let it all blow past, he had to know what was happening with his team, his friends.  
  
“I don’t know.  It’s bad,” she said softly.  “Don’s always been protective of Charlie, but this is almost obsessive.  And Charlie was barely awake before he was hiding behind Don again.  Don confirmed what we knew about them being taken and why there were traces of drugs in their system.  They were drugged and sometimes when they woke Charlie was beaten.  He won’t say why that happened, or what they were able to do to stop it, but something forced this hyper attachment they’re displaying.  Whatever happened between Don and Charlie, Don isn’t talking.”  
  
“You said you had an idea earlier.” David prodded.  
  
Megan looked like she was going to balk but then Colby pressed ahead.  “We can’t help them if we don’t know what we’re dealing with Megan.”  
  
He could see the relief in Megan’s eyes as she pulled them aside.  She didn’t want to hold this on her own and she shouldn’t have to.  They got them out as a team and they’d see them through recovery as a team.     
  
“I can’t say for certain, but if you look at the way they’re clinging to one another it makes sense.  Don couldn’t protect Charlie from whatever was happening so he’s letting Charlie stand behind him, sheltering him from everything he can.  Charlie sees Don as the only person who can stop the bad things from happening.  Whatever happened was intense and it was done in a manner that was meant to psychologically break them down and force them to rely on each other.”  
  
“You think something happened to Charlie.”  David said softly.  
  
“With the minimal number of bruises and contusions we’ve found on Charlie’s body, I can only think of one thing that would have sent both he and Don over the edge so quickly.”  
  
David didn’t want to hear her continue but he knew he had to let her get it out.  He took a deep breath to steady himself, nodding when he was ready for her to go on.  
  
“Rape.”

 

 

 

  
Their release from the hospital came two days later.  There was no lasting damage to them physically.  The doctors didn’t have any serious concerns for the brothers and the bruises Charlie was suffering didn’t warrant a longer stay.  Charlie refused to allow a rape kit no matter what Megan said and Don surprised everyone by agreeing with him.  The older brother refused one as well, saying he hadn’t been hurt in the encounter but no one quite believed him.  Megan bit at her bottom lip when he told her to back off and there was disappointment in her eyes.  Colby just nodded and walked away.  David took a deep breath and gave a half smile, tilting his head in acknowledgment as he did so.  
   
Their father was there, had been there since right after they’d woken up.  He looked like hell, but Don couldn’t imagine what he must have been going through, both of his sons missing when he’d built his world around them for so many years.  He swooped in, charmed the staff into letting him walk in and out whenever he wanted, and threatened the press if they came a step too close the first two days.   
  
Neither Charlie nor Don were talking to the press and the hospital made sure to keep the reporters out.  No one really cared about what happened to an FBI agent who went missing, but once word leaked out that the author of “The Attraction Equation” had gone missing it was suddenly a news worthy story.   
  
Don ran his fingers over the thigh of his favorite pair of jeans.  They were clean and soft, the pair he wore when he needed comfort.  He didn’t know if his father knew that, or if it was just a coincidence that he brought them back from Don’s apartment but it felt good.  A plain black tee-shirt made him feel comfortable as he waited for the doctor to come back with the last of the paperwork.  
  
He leaned back in the chair, refusing to get in the damn bed again after three days spent in it.  He closed his eyes, trying not to watch as Charlie dressed.  Don heard a bang and his brother’s curse and his eyes opened of their own accord, his body already moving to Charlie’s side.  
  
“You alright Chuck?”  His hand tilted his brother’s face up to look at him.  
  
“Yeah.”  Charlie said softly.  “Just … banged my elbow.”  
  
Don nodded, brushing his lips across Charlie’s forehead before realizing what he was doing.  When he thought about it, he stepped back quickly.  Damn, he had to stop this.  He had to control what he was doing, the feelings he was having where Charlie was concerned.  It made it worse when he looked at Charlie, at the hurt in his eyes, like he knew why Don had stepped away.  “Finish up,” he said softly to take the sting away.  “The quicker you get dressed, the quicker we can get home.”  
  
Charlie smiled at that, though Don knew he wouldn’t be happy when he realized what Don meant by those words.  He had no intention of staying at Charlie’s, of becoming his brother’s sole means of comfort and safety now that they were out.  He had to return them to their former lives, had to remember that they were just brothers before it all got out of control.  Doing what they had to do to survive was one thing.  Doing this willingly because he couldn’t step away from that sick bastard’s conditioning was something else entirely.  
  
Charlie concentrated on dressing again and Don turned to stare out the window.  He didn’t know what he was going to do.  The FBI didn’t want him back for another week, feeling he needed at least that long to recover from the ordeal.  All he wanted to do was bury himself.  In his brother was the predominant desire.  Since he couldn’t do that, he wanted to bury himself in work.  They were taking that option from him so he was floundering, trying to find his feet.   
  
He felt Charlie behind him, felt his brother’s forehead rest between his shoulder blades but he didn’t push him away, didn’t try to get distance between them.  It was why he had to get out of the hospital and back to his life.  He didn’t have it in him to deny Charlie and he knew what his brother needed right now, what would make him safe and happy.  A few days out of the room and he could see the whole thing clearly.  The way he’d been made to keep his brother safe, the way his touch was supposed to equate safety for Charlie.  The way they had been forced into this terrible intimacy that he could never accept, never forget, never unlearn.  His only chance was to run from it, pretend not to see his brother’s need, and bury his own.   
  
Charlie’s hand came up to rest on his hip and Don closed his eyes.  Not yet though.  He couldn’t turn away with his brother just yet.  “You okay Chuck?”  
  
“Yeah, just want to go home.”  
  
“Soon.”  
  
“When are you going back to work?”  
  
“They gave me a week off.”  
  
“That’s it?”  
  
He huffed softly, knowing that his brother didn’t understand his need to get back to his work.  He didn’t understand Don’s need for the separation that was going to have to happen between them.  Charlie was still too far under the influence of their abductor to see what was good for him, to know what had been done to him.  As brilliant as Charlie was, he didn’t have an understanding of the human psyche and the convoluted things people could do to you if they really understood how.     
  
“Mr. Eppes?”  
  
Don turned away from the window and felt Charlie turning with him, letting Don be his shield against the rest of the world.  The nurse looked askance at him as they always did when they found the two of them too close together.  He didn’t know if they knew about the kidnapping but Charlie never bothered to talk to them, just cowered behind him.  Don was to used to his brother clinging to act like it was something out of the ordinary.   
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I have your paperwork.”  
  
“So we sign this and we can get out of here?”  
  
“The doctor already signed his part.  Just need your John Hancock and you’re set to go,” she said with a smile.  
  
Don approached the nurse and started rifling through the paperwork, signing where she told him to sign.  Charlie was about to sign his own paperwork when their father showed up.    His smile was warm and welcoming as he walked in, but there was a sadness in his eyes that Don couldn’t remember seeing since their mother had passed away.   
  
“We were beginning to think we’d have to call a taxi.”  Don teased as the nurse pointed out the correct pages to Charlie.  He took a step towards their father but Charlie’s hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him.   
  
“Don’t leave me Don.”  He said softly, his eyes betraying the flood of emotions behind the words.  He didn’t know if Charlie had figured out his plan or if he’d just panicked at the idea of being left with the nurse.   
  
“I’m right here buddy.”  Don answered just as softly.  “Finish up and we can get you home.”  
  
“Us home.”  
  
“You bet.  I’m more than ready to sleep in a real bed tonight.”  
  
His father’s eyes strayed to Charlie’s hand on his wrist and when he looked up at Don, he looked concerned.  Don just glared back, challenging the older man to say anything about it.  He wasn’t sure how it would have ended if the nurse hadn’t interrupted.   
  
“The doctor left some prescriptions for the both of you.  There’s a pharmacy on the way out if you want to get them filled there.”  
  
“Sleeping pills, right?”  Don asked, taking his eyes away from his father to the nurse.   
  
“Yes, but remember to use them only when needed.  If you can find a way to sleep without them it’s better to try.  These aren’t very strong, as I’m sure the doctor already told you, but they can be addictive.”  
  
“We’ll be fine.  Thank you.”  He looked down at Charlie’s paperwork and nodded.  “So we’re free to go now?”  
  
“I just need to get someone to wheel the two of you out and you’re free.”  
  
“Great.”

 

 

 

  
  
They got Charlie home and Don insisted his brother lay down.  He gave Charlie one of the sleeping pills and though Charlie stared at it for a moment, he swallowed it down without asking why.  “Don, lay with me?”  He asked softly as he settled into the warmth of the soft comforter.  
  
“Yeah Chuck.” He said, as he lay down beside his brother.  Charlie scooted close and it only took a few minutes before he was asleep.  Don ran a hand over his brother’s sleeping face and pressed their lips together in a final kiss before extracting himself from his brother’s bed.  
His father was waiting in the front room, reading a book, pretending there was nothing out of the ordinary in the day.  It was the same thing he’d done whenever Don had been caught as a kid, sneaking in past curfew.   
  
“So, you’re just going to leave now?”  
  
“Dad-“  
  
“I don’t know what happened to you Don, but I know that your brother needs you.”  
  
“No, he doesn’t.  He needs to be able to deal with this without me around.”  
  
“And you’re so certain of it that you drugged him so he couldn’t fight it when you left.”  His father asked as he set the book in his lap.  
  
“It’s not like that.”  
  
“Then explain it to me.”  
  
“No.”  Don said as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.  
  
“Donnie, I know you don’t want to talk to me, but what am I supposed to tell your brother when he wakes up?  You know what he’s going to be like.”  
  
“Dad,” he hesitated because he didn’t know what to do.  He had to leave, he knew that.  Charlie wasn’t going to get better with him around.  He wasn’t going to get better with Charlie close enough to touch.  His brother wouldn’t understand that right now, but in the end, he had to believe Charlie would forgive him.   He was safe now.  Don had to be content with that.  In time he’d be able to see his brother again, to see he was alright, but it was too much right now.  
  
“He won’t understand but that doesn’t mean this isn’t the right thing to do.”  
  
His father stood and Don thought he was going to argue with him, but instead he wrapped Don in his huge embrace.  Don let himself rest there for a moment, taking comfort from the strength of his father before he pulled back.  
  
“I know you can’t talk to me Donnie, but there are people who can help you.  Don’t think you have to do this all on your own.”  
  
“I know Dad.  I promise, I’ll ask for help if I need it.”  
  
“If?”  
  
Don gave his father a half smile, then walked out the door.  Every step was heavier and harder than the last as he walked away from his lover, hoping someday he’d get his brother back in his stead.

 

 

 

  
  
Don’s apartment had never felt as empty as it did when he returned to it.  It wasn’t just the apartment.  That had always been a blank slate for him, a place to unwind when he had time, but a place that he never thought of as home.  Home had dark wood and soft comfort, it had his father’s pile of books and a trace of chalky fingerprints all over the walls and banisters.   
  
He hadn’t realized he’d gone back so often during the course of a week until it became a place he couldn’t go.  He knew Charlie wouldn’t be able to leave yet, not without Don there to protect him, to wrap him up in safe arms and keep the rest of the world at bay.  It was what he wanted more than anything, to make sure that Charlie was well, to kiss away the stress of the day and hold him at night to stay the nightmares.  He couldn’t though.  It wasn’t what would pull Charlie through, so he closed himself off to the thought.   
  
It was a cold comfort to know he was suffering like his brother, but a comfort nonetheless.  A week at odds with himself and to learn how to deal with the broken relationship he now had with Charlie.  Two weeks back at work where the team watched him too closely, tried a little too hard to pretend that everything was back to normal, and all Don wanted to do was cave in.  He wanted to do what everyone else wanted, to go see his brother and to help Charlie deal with the kidnapping.  He couldn’t though and as he saw Megan walking Larry back to her desk he couldn’t stop the anger that was bubbling up inside him.  Megan and Larry who seemed to have a really good thing going but refused to make more of it.  The pair who could go see Charlie whenever they wanted, who didn’t understand why Don couldn’t.  
  
“Don, look who stopped by for a visit.”  Megan said with a soft smile.  
  
“Yeah, hey Larry.  How are you?”  He asked, barely looking up from the files on his desk.  
  
“As well as can be expected I suppose.”  The professor said with a shake of his head.  “Your father just gave me a rather sound beating at chess, and while I try not to let the competitive nature of my species dictate my actions, there are times when I must admit it bothers me.”  
Don nodded, glad to hear that was all he was talking about.  He didn’t need another lecture about his duty to his father or brother.  Too many people thought they knew what was best for him and Charlie and none of them had any idea.   
  
“I couldn’t coax Charles out of his room for a game though.  I thought it might work for a moment, but then he closed the door again, and refused to come out.”  
  
“Refused to come out?  Out of where?”  
  
Larry looked at Megan and Megan looked as incredulous as he did.  “When Charlie woke after you left he went straight to the garage.  He comes out for the bathroom mostly when no one else is there, but otherwise, he refuses to leave.  I thought you knew about that.”  
  
“I thought Charlie was in the house.”  Don said, a pit of uncertainty forming in his stomach.  “I thought he was getting better.”  
  
Larry shrugged.  “That would be hard when he won’t talk to anyone.”  
  
“I thought he was seeing a shrink.”  
  
“Well… a psychologist can only do so much when someone refuses to talk to them,” Megan answered.  “He’ll let a few of us come into the garage with him, but even the psychologist has to come to him and we’re only allowed so far in.  Anything past a certain point and Charlie huddles on the bed he moved into the center of the room.”  
  
He could picture it so clearly in his mind, his brother’s garage had similar dimensions as their prison.  The hide-a-bed their father kept out there could easily be moved into the right position, and Charlie huddled on the bed, waiting for Don to comfort him, to tell him when it was okay to come out and back into the sheltered existence of their captivity.  
  
“Jesus Chuck,” he whispered to himself a hand wiping over his face as he tried to understand why no one had told him about that.  Then he realized, they didn’t understand.  Neither he nor Charlie were talking and until one of them did, so many of the things that mattered were kept just between them.   
  
“Don,” Larry said softly.  “Don’t you think it’s time you talked to your brother?”  
  
Don didn’t answer but he stepped away from the other man.  He grabbed his jacket and walked out.  He doubted anyone believed he was going to do what they thought was necessary.  Hell, he wasn’t going to do what he wanted either since that included wrapping Charlie in his arms and keeping him safe, telling him he never had to hide behind Don again.  He never had to cower in fear on the bed as they waited for the next set of instructions, the next series of bruises if Don didn’t comply.   
  
He pulled out his cell phone and called the director.  Don told him he needed some more time to clear his head and he was gone for the rest of the week, a four day weekend so he could get his head away from Charlie and back to the life they both needed him to live.

 

 

 

  
  
It didn’t work though.  Instead of getting his head clear all he could think about was his brother, terrified and needing him.  He closed his eyes as he sat on his couch, remembering the way he would sooth his brother’s fears.  The way Charlie would calm under his touch, how he would let out a small breathy exhale when Don pressed his lips to Charlie’s forehead, how he would moan and arch when Don filled him.  
   
He had to do what was best for them both of them, but what was best?  Don wasn’t getting any better.  He could no longer lie to himself; at the end of the day he was still running from what had happened and Charlie was stuck in the same spot, unable to move on without Don there to help him.   
  
He couldn’t go back to Charlie and be what they had been molded into, but he couldn’t let it go either.  None of it mattered in the end though, because before anything else, Don was a big brother and Charlie needed him.  No matter how much it might hurt, or how it might affect his own damaged psyche, he knew he had to do something.  
  
  
He could hear their voices before he got to the door so he paused outside, listening.  
  
“You just need to leave him alone.”  He could hear Charlie’s voice reaching almost hysterical levels of anger.  “You don’t understand!”  
  
“You are right there my friend,” Larry said calmly, sympathetically.  “Because you won’t tell us.  How can we be asked to understand what you won’t explain?”  
  
“The question is, how can you attempt to offer help when you don’t?  Don is,” Charlie’s voice broke slightly, “he’s fine.  He doesn’t need you interfering in his life.”  
  
“Charles, no one is trying to interfere.  We just want to see you both well again.”  
  
Charlie huffed at Larry’s words.  Don could imagine him wrapping his arms around his waist, elbows tight against his hips to protect himself.  “Don’s the strong one.”  
  
He couldn’t take the defeat in his brother’s voice, the way Charlie’s mind automatically made Don the strong one and categorized himself as the smart one, or the freaky one, or the obsessive one.  Yeah, Don might be physically stronger than his brother, but he’d never met another human being with the sheer force of personality that Charlie had.    He walked into the room and smiled as he took in Larry and Megan standing just inside the door.  “Hey guys.”  He said softly.  
  
“Don?”  Larry’s surprise hit him viscerally, the belief that Don wouldn’t be there when his brother needed him.  They didn’t understand, as Charlie had pointed out, but Don did.  He had to do something about Charlie’s inability to leave this room and his need to defend Don.   
  
That one word was all he got from either Larry or Megan before he saw Charlie and his brother was looking at him with a strange look in his eyes.  Part of it is anger, part hunger, but it was the last emotion he didn’t understand; awe, maybe fear.  He didn’t know but when Charlie stood up from his seat on the bed, Don took a single step forward before Charlie was burying himself in his brother’s chest.  
  
He vaguely heard Megan comment about leaving them alone and when the door closed, he let his lips brush his brother’s temple.  “Jesus Charlie, what are you doing out here?”  
  
Charlie didn’t look up at him, didn’t try to get away from the embrace.  “I … I couldn’t do it Don, not alone, not without you.”  
  
“Shhhh … I know.  That’s why I’m here.  We’ve got to get you out of the garage, get you talking to someone.  You can’t stay like this.”  
  
“And you can?”  
  
Charlie stepped away and Don closed his eyes, shaking his head minutely.  “No, I can’t.  I thought… maybe if we got Dr. Bradford to come by … we could talk to him together.  You know, like that time you came in with me?”  
  
“You won’t leave me with him?”  
  
“No, I won’t.”  
  
There was a long pause as Charlie looked at him, shaking his head.  “You left before.”  
  
Don closed his eyes.  He knew this was going to happen, had to happen, but it didn’t make it any easier.  “Yeah I did.  I thought maybe we could get past this if I just backed off a little.”  
  
“You didn’t back off a little, you were just gone.”  
  
“I’m sorry Charlie.  I just … I can’t stop myself.”  He felt the anger building and tried to tamp it down, but he knew it wouldn’t take much to set him off into a full blown rage.  “The things he did, what he made us do, I can’t stop wanting to comfort you Charlie, to make sure you feel safe and the only way I know how to do that anymore is sexual.”  
  
“I don’t care Don.”  
  
He let out a bitter laugh.  “You don’t care.  I know Charlie, that’s why I had to go.  You don’t care and that’s so far out of the norm it shows just how messed up we both are.”  
  
“Don,”  
  
“No, listen.  This whole thing, it’s just because he wanted to see us break.  What he did was systematic and planned.  He made you rely on me and he made me responsible for your health and safety.  He made us both dependent on physical comfort and it has to stop.  You don’t want this Charlie, not for real.  Once we start talking to Bradford you’ll see what I’m talking about.  Once we start seeing him again, we’ll both be able to let this go.”  
  
“No, Don, it’s not like that.  I know what he did but it’s wasn’t just him.  We were both there Don.  I know you felt it, felt the connection between us before he took us.”  
  
“I didn’t Charlie.”  He forced out.  It was the truth.  He’d never thought of Charlie like that, never would have conceived he could fall into something like that, but now that he’d learned what his brother felt like, how he tasted, he wasn’t sure he could ever go back.  Hell, at least he was well known for his string of bad relationships.  It would be easier to hide his inability to think about anyone but Charlie in his arms ever again.  
  
“I’m going to go.  I’ll talk to Dad and schedule the doc to come out and we’ll see him together,” he said as he started to walk back to the door.  
  
“Don, don’t leave me.”  
  
“I’m not leaving you Chuck, not really.  I’m just doing what needs to be done.”  
  
“Walking out the door?”  
  
“Yes, before I do something stupid.”

 

 

 

  
Bradford saw them in Charlie’s garage at first.  Then after a month of visits, two a week, they were able to get Charlie into the house.  He still slept in the garage, but he was coming inside for meals and spending some time with Don and their father in the house.   
  
The team began to show up, little by little.  Charlie had a hard time with David, but Bradford realized that Charlie associated him with the traumatic events far more than the others since he’d seen him in the room they’d been held captive.  David let Charlie set the pace of their interactions and had far more patience with the genius than any of the others would have thought possible.  He smiled, wide and sincere, whenever Charlie let him a little closer or trusted him a little more and Charlie responded to his honest display.  
  
At work Don was able to concentrate more, and his team stopped looking at him like he would break, but Don was hovering on the edge of exhaustion.  He was working, dealing with Charlie’s issues, and still going home alone each night to fall into a bed that he couldn’t sleep in.  Nothing helped and he was loathe to use drugs to fall asleep, afraid his brother would need him in the middle of the night and Don wouldn’t be able to respond.   
  
“Don, you look awful,” Charlie said as Bradford left their session.  They were in the garage again because the psychologist had wanted Charlie to explain why this room felt safer to him than any other.  Charlie had shown him exactly where things had been in the other room, how he’d done his best to recreate it.   
  
Don fell back on the bed in the middle of the room and tensed when he felt his brother settle in beside him.  Charlie wasn’t touching him though, just lay beside him within easy reach.  “I’m okay Charlie, I just need to get some sleep I think.”  
  
It was the last thing he said before his eyes drooped shut and his yawn turned into a long exhale of breath that led him to sleep.  
  
  
  
When he woke a few hours later, Don looked up to find Charlie sitting on the edge of the bed, a book in hand, a notebook on his knee.  He watched for a few minutes as Charlie scribbled figures furiously and couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at seeing his brother so caught up in the numbers.  It was the one thing that had probably bothered his brother the most when they’d been captive, the inability to express his thoughts.  
  
He dropped his head back to the mattress, still smiling.  It wasn’t a full night’s sleep but he’d slept better in those last few hours than he had the entire time they’d been out.  He knew why too, didn’t need to ask the shrink about that one, but it felt good anyway.  
  
“Don?” he heard the question in Charlie’s voice and he turned to look at his little brother.  
  
“Yeah Charlie, I’m awake.”  
  
“You don’t have to be.  I mean, you can sleep a while longer.  I was just doing some work.”  
  
“Anything interesting?”  
  
Charlie looked at him for a second, then back at his notebook.  “I was just … running my equation.”  
  
“What equation?”  
  
“You know, the book.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Do you know why I stopped working on this equation when I was a kid?”  
  
Don shrugged.  “I figured you realized you couldn’t make friends using math.”  
  
Charlie gave him a condescending smile.  “Of course you can Don.  You can use math to do anything.”  
  
Don smiled brighter because he’d known what Charlie would say to that sort of answer.  Hell, it was almost ingrained in Don at that point.  “So why did you quit then?”  
  
“Because I found the answer.  I did the math and I double checked it, triple checked it, went through all my data, my research.  I knew that it meant what I thought it did and I couldn’t live with the answer so I dropped it entirely.”  
  
Don frowned, uncertain of what his brother was saying.  Charlie continued on before he could question him though.  
  
“Look Don, I know it’s going to take a long time to work all this out.  I know … I’m too dependent on you, but I always have been.  For as long as I can remember you were keeping the bullies away, protecting me from the people that didn’t understand.  Even when … even when Mom was sick, you protected me from that, as much as you hated what I was doing, you never made me see what was really going on.  Michaels didn’t make you protective of me, you’ve always been that way.  And he didn’t make me rely on you, didn’t make me need your approval anymore than I already did.  It was just the way we expressed it that changed.”  
  
“What are you saying here Charlie?”  
  
“Maybe Michaels made us do things we never would have done Don, but it doesn’t mean what developed isn’t real.  It doesn’t mean that what we felt before didn’t contribute as well.”  
  
“Charlie,” he said, sitting up on the bed.  He had no idea how to counter where his brother was taking this idea, though he could see it crystal clear now.  
  
“I quit the equation Don, because the answer was you.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I was twelve years old and the equation I created to help me find friends told me that the person I was closest too, my soul mate if you would,” he said with a huff, “was my big brother.”  
  
“Charlie.”  
  
“So I stopped.  The thing is Don, I don’t know how I felt before this all happened, I can’t tell anymore.  But I do know that what I felt was real, what I still feel is real.  I know I’m safe when you’re around.  I get excited when I know you’re on the way.  It’s not just what happened in that room Don, it’s what’s happened ever since.  It’s the way you walked out when I know it had to be killing you, the way you got Bradford in here when I know how much you dislike talking about things.  I know you love me Don, you always have, but if you look deeper, you’ll find I’m right.  I’m in love you Don and you’re in love with me.”  
  
Don leaned forward, resting his head in his hands as he listened to Charlie.  He wanted to stop him, to tell Charlie not to put so much faith in his math but he knew better.  Charlie believed.  The problem was that so did Don.  He’d been fighting so hard against his feelings, knowing the root was because of what Michaels had forced them to do, but in the end it was what he was feeling in the here and now that kept him awake at night.  
  
“We’ll get through this Don, we’ll get past what happened,” Charlie broke through his thoughts.  “I know we have to do that first, but then the balls in your court.  You know what I want and I think you want it too.”  
  
Don huffed as he dropped his hands and looked at his little brother.  No, not little brother, not anymore.  He looked at the man before him, the strong, courageous, compassionate, insanely intelligent man and Don knew that there was nothing he wanted more than to keep Charlie safe.  He wanted to keep him close and wrap him in his arms, protect him, love him the way he deserved.   
He raised a hand and set it on Charlie’s shoulder, his thumb tracing up and down his brother’s neck.  “My court huh?”  
  
“Yeah,” Charlie said, his voice breathless at the touch as his eyes searched Don’s.  
  
“We’ll figure this out with Bradford, but then?  Jesus Charlie,” he said with a smile, “the answer for me will always be you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the numb3rs_bigbang challenge on Live Journal! This is my first long Numb3rs story so I've been really nervous about it, but extremely excited to have it finally up! Huge thanks to selu for the awesome art for this story! And to slvrbld747 who beta'd this story, not just for errors but who also became a sounding board for me when I was trying to figure out how to make the changes I knew I needed to!


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